Runa
by Spadefire
Summary: The Warriors find an underground city, fight a vampire, blow stuff up, and generally get hurt. Inside is Raikim, Edward-bashing and a lot of weirdness. COMPLETE! R&R
1. Chapter 1

Runa

**A/N: This is my very first chapter story, so here's hoping I don't royally screw up. XD Emma, the Tenzin Torch and the Zenith and Nadir Mirrors belong to me, but that's all. Enjoy!**

CHAPTER 1

The Warriors surveyed the landscape. What once had been a mighty city had fallen to siege, and now lay in ruins. The ancient stone held firm, though any wood had long since rotted away. The noonday sun beat down on the desolate landscape, dark clouds beginning to roll in from the East. No plant life could be seen, and an eerie silence filled the otherwise void atmosphere as they continued forward. "Kimiko?" Emma asked, glancing at the Japanese girl.

"Troy," Kimiko said. "I'm sure of it."

"Dojo?" Emma asked the dragon perched on Clay's hat.

"Yep, this is it," Dojo replied. "The ruins of Troy."

"I can feel the fire speaking through it's remnants," Kimiko murmured, brushing her hand against a scorch mark on a wall. It was one of many covering the ruins; fire had obviously been the main cause of Troy's demise.

"That's temporal resonation coinciding with your pyrokinesis," Emma said, nodding. "We're counting on that and Dojo's memory to lead us to the- what was it again?"

"The Zenith Mirror. It lets you see anywhere in the world, but only if it's partner Wu, the Nadir Mirror, is activated. Both have to be for one to work." Dojo sniffed the air, stopping as he began to shiver. "Ooh! It's this way!" He pointed to a monumental building in the center of the city.

"Let us be rolling!" Omi said, heading towards the ancient structure.

"'Let's roll,'" Raimundo corrected, following him.

"That too!" The teens peered into the blackness inside the windowless building. It was beautiful on the outside, but on the inside, they couldn't see anything.

"Tenzin Torch!" Clay held up the Wu, immediately filling the space with light. "Hoo-whee! Lookit the size a' this place!" It was cavernous, with archways supporting the ceiling. A tunnel in the back escaped the light of the Torch, drawing the newest Warrior's attention.

"Hey, guys. Check this out." Emma pointed to the nearly-hidden tunnel. The Warriors crept closer, keeping their distance just in case.

"What is that?" Raimundo asked, glancing at a strange plant growing around the tunnel's entrance. It had hooded purple-blue flowers, crowding around the tunnel but leaving a clear path through. He reached out to touch it when-

"RAI!" The Brazilian froze. "Don't! That's monkshood! It's really poisonous," Emma said.

"So... we can't touch it?" Kimiko asked. "'Cause I could just burn it away."

"Well, I know for sure it's dangerous to eat. I dunno about touch, but burning it will just make the spores spread all over," Emma admitted.

"Better safe than sorry," Clay said, nodding. "Ah'd hate t' git any a' that in mah lungs."

"How did you even know what that was?" Kimiko asked as they carefully navigated through the plants.

"Well, when I get my own place, I'm gonna garden poisonous plants so I can take care of those that would challenge my supreme reign before I get my ninja army." Kimiko gave her the okaaaaaay-you're-crazy look and Emma gave a nervous grin. "I mean, y'know, just… thinking ahead is all…"

"Dojo? Is the Zenith Mirror that way?" Omi asked, pointing down the tunnel.

"Looks like it," Dojo said. "But, uh, maybe I should stay here to... keep watch!"

"Great idea, Dojo! It'll just be you, alone in the darkness, surrounded by poisonous plants!" Kimiko chirped.

"Yeah, see ya in a few hours," Raimundo chuckled.

"Uh, on second thought, maybe I should go with you guys," Dojo said, cowering behind Clay's hat.

"That's what I thought," Rai said, fist-bumping Kimiko. The Warriors walked hesitantly into the tunnel, the Tenzin Torch's light all they had. Outside the circle of light, they couldn't see anything.

"Dojo? We getting close?" Emma whispered.

"Y-yeah, real close," the small dragon whimpered. "Here's hoping we find it before someone finds us."

"Someone... or some_thing_," Emma hissed, her hood suddenly obscuring her face. The other Warriors froze, glancing at her in a mix of confusion and fear.

"What?" Kimiko asked, creeped out.

"Uh... I dunno... it just felt right..." The Japanese girl facepalmed.

"Of course it did. Now would you try and ratchet down the crazy? Jack's probably gonna jump out at us from some shadowy corner or whatever and we don't need to already be freaked."

Emma frowned, looking repentant. "Sorry... I just can't help it..."

Kimiko sighed. "It's fine... just... tone down the you, okay?"

"Okay! Now let's find that Mirror!" They continued on, trying to shake off the feeling of being watched.

The Warriors came to a fork in the tunnel, looking around. Water dripped from the ceiling, some splashing on Raimundo's head. He moved next to Kimiko, unconsciously reaching for her hand. She grabbed his hand, staying close to the taller boy.

"Are we... in a _pipe_?" Emma asked. While the others had been thinking about which way to go, she had been looking around. And indeed, now that the others inspected their surroundings, they realized that the tunnel was made of metal, not stone. At even intervals you could see where one pipe fed into another, a ladder running the length of the pipe above them.

"There's no way this was here during the time of Troy," Raimundo muttered.

"Excellent deduction," Kimiko monotoned, making Rai chuckle embarrassedly. "Seriously, though, who built this? And why is it connected to that giant building?"

"Dojo, you an' Dashi his the Wu here, so you know why, right?" Clay asked the small dragon.

"That's just it," Dojo said. "We hid it in the place that would become Troy. Remember, a lot of the Shen Gong Wu we've found weren't in their original hiding places. Time changes everything, even magic things. I have no idea who built this, or why."

Emma frowned. "I can feel the remnants of a spell in the air. Someone else has been here, someone who can use magic."

"You gettin' something?" Raimundo asked, hoping she would have another backwards magic trick up her sleeve. Emma nodded and walked over to where the pipe split into two, placing her hand on a tile. A great scraping sound ensued, a worn plaque rising from the ground.

"There was a magic barrier here once," she said, looking down at the odd writing on the plaque. "It was broken not too long ago, so I used the traces left and found out where this thing was… whatever it is."

The others crowded around the plaque. The language was strange to all of them, looking unlike anything they'd ever seen.

"Emma, can you use your backwards magic to read it?" Omi asked.

"I think so. Lemme try..." The Irish girl closed her eyes. When she opened them again, they were far too distant, and when she spoke, it wasn't her voice that came out, but a pained, raspy one. As she spoke, her words echoes throughout the metal pipes, resonating and reverberating until they became almost unearthly.

"For all who seek to enter here

Thy lives must be held close and dear

For when the tide comes up to drown

Trespassers will be going down

Into the ocean's mirthless black

So take the right and don't look back

Three trials are what you shall find

Succeeding will take strength of mind

Courage is the test first faced

To make it, you must be fast-paced

Secondly, a test of mind

Death is what the failures find

Last you must not ever stray

From the path you've laid today

For if you give up the fight

The water takes your life tonight."

She closed her eyes and opened them once more, stumbling back as the remnants of the spell wore off. Clay caught her, helping to steady her as she regained her balance and lost energy. "Ooh... 'd I get it?"

"You got it, all right," Raimundo said, "but I don't think you were the one talking."

"What spell did you use?" Kimiko asked.

"I sent a time vision spell into the air. Anything magically important would have responded through me, so I guess that's what you heard. Did I speak in rhymes?"

"Yes," Omi replied. "How did you know?"

"The plaque was forged with magic. Verse magic, to be exact. Verse means literal verses, so, rhymes. And I think I know who made this," she added, looking around at the tunnel.

"Who?" Dojo asked.

"... W-well, it's still just a theory," Emma stammered, trying to stand straight, but only getting halfway there before falling back. "I'll, ah, tell ya later. Let's- nng- keep going."

"If you say so," Clay said, helping her stand. "That spell took a lot outta ya. Ya sure yer gonna be alright?"

Emma nodded. "Yeah, I just need a little help is all. I'll be fine in a sec, no worries."

"Okay, you said to go right, so let's head that way," Raimundo said, starting down the tunnel, Torch in hand. The others followed him, eager to stay within the circle of light the Wu provided.

As soon as they had left, however, a pair of big yellow eyes emerged from the darkness. Another pair, this one amber, moved beside them, never directly looking at them. "Stop them," a voice hissed. The sound of smooth scales against cold metal echoed down the pipe as the yellow eyes glided away.

A bloodchilling laugh resounded, and silence returned as it faded into echoes.

**Ooooooh. Who's been in the tunnels before? How does Emma know who built them? Who's behind them, and why do they sound so very evil? Why am I asking YOU all these questions? Stay tuned to find out! Oh, and that button down there that says Review? You should push it. Seriously. Do it. Emma will love you forever.**

**Emma: It's true, I will!**

**See? Do it. Do it. Do iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiitttttt. Do it.**


	2. Chapter 2

CH. 2

**A/N: So, I had fun with this one. Emma breaking the fourth wall, Clay being a smarty-pants, and a healthy dose of Raikim make for a good fanbase, I'm told. Also, you can tell I don't know how to play chess, so I completely skipped the game. Sorry. But otherwise, I hope you enjoy! **

The Xiaolin Warriors looked into the abyss that separated them from their goal. The pipe they were walking in had been perfectly normal up until they stumbled upon the huge hole in the pipe. It quickly disappeared into the blackness, so they couldn't see how far it reached.

"Ooh, chasm. I've always hated chasms," Dojo said. "Especially in tunnels! I can never fly over!"

"So... ya think this is the first test?" The Warriors cast disparaging glanced at the Irish girl. "What? WHAT? Why are you guys always looking at me like that?"

Kimiko rolled her eyes and turned back to the hole. "We can't go into it-"

"- we can't go past it-" Omi added.

"- so we'll go over it," Clay finished. The others gave him the you-crazy look, which he ignored. "Courage is the test first faced, to make it you must be fast-paced. Ah reckon it means ya gotta go back a ways, then take a runnin' leap an' hope ya make it."

"Are you sure?" Omi asked, leaning precariously over the edge. "I think a most unpleasant demise awaits us if we fail."

"I don't hear anyone else coming up with any better ideas," Kimiko sighed, standing. "Wish we'd brought the Jetbootsu or Mantis Flip Coin or Monsoon Sandals or something."

"True. But I cannot make an ice bridge over it, you cannot jet us across, Clay cannot make an earth bridge over it and Raimundo cannot fly all of us over. To do that, we would need to know how far away the other side is," Omi speculated.

"No kidding," Raimundo muttered. "Anybody wanna go first?"

"I'll do it." The Xiaolin Dragons turned in surprise to the resident witch-in-training. "I'm just a Warrior, not a Dragon. If you guys croak the world'll be in serious danger. If I do, it'll probably be a better place."

"Emma, are ya sure?" Clay asked. "We ain't that important."

"Are too." She spun around, dashing away in the direction they had come from.

"Great, she's finally lost it," Raimundo said, facepalming.

"She had it in the first place?" Kimiko asked. Then a blur of black and green sped by, leaping over the chasm. Time seemed to pause for a moment as Emma disappeared into the darkness. The Dragons watched and waited for a scream, but none came.

"... Emma?" Clay called. For a moment, there was no response, and they feared the worst. Then a familiar voice replied.

"C'mon over, it's not far at all!" They exhaled as a group, sharing glances as they mentally debated who should go over next.

"Ah reckon Ah oughta go now," Clay drawled, glancing into the receding murk of the tunnel. "Dojo can make it over if Ah can get at least halfway."

"Wait, what?" the little dragon asked. Clay backed up, then ran forward, jumping across. Dojo screamed and covered his eyes as they disappeared into the dark.

"Emma's right, it ain't far!" Clay called from the other side.

"I think I saw my life flash before my eyes... and I get filthy stinkin' rich!" Dojo said happily.

"I will go next," Omi offered, moving back. "Raimundo, you can fly Kimiko over, correct?"

"Yeah, I think so," he said, nodding. Omi nodded back and leapt across. However, he tripped on exiting their side of the tunnel, plummeting into the chasm.

"OMI!" Kimiko screamed, she and Rai starting forward. But a lasso shot out from the darkness on the other side and hooked Omi's ankle, pulling him back up.

"We can still see into the hole," Emma called, her relief evident in her voice. "Omi's okay."

"You okay, lil' buddy?" Clay asked as Omi was pulled into the darkness.

"Oh, I am most okay," Omi replied. "I do believe my timing was off, though."

"C'mon, you two, fly over!" Emma called. "We're all fine!"

"Ready?" Raimundo asked Kimiko. She nodded, taking the Torch for him as he built up a gust of wind. He grabbed her around the waist so she wouldn't fall halfway across the chasm, letting the wind build up a little more. Which, of course, wasn't an excuse to enjoy the fact that her arms were wrapped around his torso, and if he moved just a little he could very well kiss her-

Then he realized what he was thinking and lost control of the wind, sending both of them rocketing across the pit and crashing into the others. Everyone hit the ground, Kimiko ending up sprawled on top of Raimundo.

"Love on the battlefield," Emma giggled, pointing them out to Clay, who began snickering. Kimiko and Raimundo quickly realized what they looked like and moved apart, both blushing madly.

"Way to make yer move, Rai," Clay chuckled, nudging the Brazilian with his elbow. Raimundo blushed harder, looking anywhere but Kimiko.

"Cut it out, you two, we got a Wu to find," he snapped, heading forward. Emma and Clay continued to snicker about it behind them as Omi followed, confused as to what they found so funny.

"Okay, one test down, two to go," Kimiko said, hoping to change the subject.

"Yeah, you never did tell me what I said," Emma added, frowning.

"First you said there would be trials. 'Courage is the test first faced, to make it you must be fast-paced.' So we passed the first one," Raimundo said.

"Next ya said, 'secondly, a test of mind, death is what the failures find,'" Clay said.

"Ooh. That's pleasant," Emma said, though it was difficult to tell whether she was being sarcastic or not. "And the last trial?"

"'Last you must not ever stray from the path you've laid today. For if you give up the fight, the water takes your life tonight,'" Omi recapped. "So if the first was a test of courage, perhaps the second will be a test of intelligence."

"Yeah, that's how it always goes in the movies," Dojo muttered.

"But we're in a TV show, not a movie," Emma sighed. "Actually, a poorly written fanfiction, but whatever."

"Fer th' last time, we ain't in a TV show! Where are ya gettin' all these ideas?" Clay sighed.

"They're not ideas, they're fact. And the fangirls support it! Right guys?" Emma asked, facing the screen. The others looked in the same direction, confused.

"... What are you looking at?" Kimiko asked slowly.

"You can't see them, can you?" Emma asked. The others shook their heads. "While I'm breaking the fourth wall, I'd like to thank Xiaolin Fan and TheXGrayXLady for reviewing Bits and Pieces. It's an awesome collection of drabbles also featuring me, and y'all oughta check it out. Yay for self-promotion!"

"What?" Raimundo cried in exasperation.

"Never you mind," Emma said, walking on. "Well, c'mon, we got a Wu to get!" The others snapped out of it and followed, still trying to process the extents of Emma's... specialness.

After a while, a dim light came from ahead. They entered a large room that looked more like a cave. However, the floor was perfectly flat. They climbed down into it, looking around to see what their next challenge would be.

Kimiko was the first to spot it. "Uh... guys?" she called, looking at the giant chessboard set out in front of them. "I think I found the next challenge."

"A giant chessboard in a cave," Emma muttered to herself. "It's the Sorcerer's Stone all freakin' over again."

"What was that?" Omi asked, the only one to have heard something.

"Nothin', O. I vote Raimundo does this one!" she said, walking up to the others to gawk at the giant board. "I hate chess. Wizard's chess especially."

Raimundo glanced at Kimiko, who shrugged and twirled a finger next to her ear. Raimundo chuckled and turned back to the board.

"Look, pieces are missin'," Clay pointed out. "Ah recon we gotta take their places and play."

"Okay. Omi, you'll be a pawn. Kimiko will be the queen, Emma will be a rook, Clay will be a knight and I'll be the king, okay?" Raimundo said.

"_If you were my king, ooh, I would be your queen_," Emma sang, nudging Kimiko and grinning.

"Will you knock it off?" the Dragon of Fire roared as Emma ran, giggling, to her spot. Kimiko gritted her teeth, annoyed at how everyone thought she liked Raimundo. Oh, sure, he was handsome, talented, funny, sweet... no! Nonono, she did NOT like Rai! No way, no how! No matter what that stupid leprechaun said!

"We're white, so we'll go first," Raimundo said. "Pawn 5 to E4." The game continued on, painstakingly slowly. But Raimundo was a good chess player, and had the black pieces in check several times. However, they always managed to slip out of his grasp. He put his mind to work, mulling over each decision with the tenacity he usually reserved only for poker night and betting matches for soccer.

"... Time out," Raimundo finally said. The black pieces acquiesced, and he pulled his team in for a huddle. "Guys, I've got a plan, but I don't think you're gonna like it."

"Probably not, but go ahead," Dojo said nervously from his perch on Clay's hat.

"My plan is gonna get us out of here alive, I promise. Only problem is, to make it work, one of us needs to take a dive," he explained, glancing at Clay. Everyone turned to the Texan, who had already realized what his friend meant.

"... Ah trust ya, Rai. If me goin' down means we can win, Ah'll go down."

Emma gave his shoulder a reassuring pat and a small smile. "Atta boy."

"Okay, just follow my lead." The Shoku relayed his plan to all of them, making sure they understood what to do. They then walked back onto the chessboard, Raimundo watching the other team carefully. A few more moves went by, then he set his plan into action. "Knight 1 to G8." Clay strode towards the square, knowing perfectly well what was about to happen. He stood in front of the black queen, the only obstacle between his team and victory. He tipped his hat to her before turning back to his leader. "Now?"

"Now!" Raimundo yelled. Clay spun back around and jumped, vaulting off the queen's throne and into the pipe that began again on the other side of the wall. The others followed, dodging would-be fatal blows from the stone chess pieces. They all made it to safety, Raimundo waving to the chess pieces they'd left behind.

"So long, suckers!" He followed the others down the winding pipe,

Tenzin Torch lighting their way. They slowed to a walk once they'd put some distance between themselves and the chess pieces, then burst into laughter.

"Nice job, Chief," Emma chortled, wiping her eyes as they walked down the pipe. It was much larger than the previous one had been, and branched off left and right every now and then. However, they had opted to keep going straight for the time being.

"Oh, yes, we certainly had the fall on them," Omi agreed, grinning. "They were most dumified by our angry talents!"

"... We had the drop on them, and they were stupefied by our mad skills," Kimiko translated. "Nailed it!"

"Awright, Rai, ya did a good job, but ya don't have to keep making that fan screamin' sound," Clay said.

Raimundo raised an eyebrow. "What fan screaming sound?"

"Y'know, exhalin' like yer fans are screamin' fer ya. It's startin t' get annoyin'."

"Uh, I just stopped." Both boys froze, making the others stop in confusion. "Who's doing that?" Everyone closed his or her mouth, but the sound only got louder. A _lot_ louder.

"If I didn't know any better, I'd say that sounded like a..." Dojo trailed off as a gargantuan cobra rounded the corner, as slow as if it knew they'd be paralyzed with fear. "... snake." It's scales glittered a shade of green that looked haunted in the Torch's light. It's eyes were a shock of yellow, contrasting deeply with the emerald hue on it's body. Black lines marked it's body like racing stripes, narrowing near it's tail.

"Giant snake in pipes. Any originality this story may have had dies now," Emma muttered to herself. "J.K. Rowling, I offer my sincerest apologies for the butchering of your genius."

"Just back away slowly," Raimundo whispered. "We had these everywhere back in Rio, and the worst thing you can do is make sudden movements."

"You had giant asps?" Emma squeaked.

"Actually, asps are found in southern Europe, not South America," Clay murmured. Everyone gave him the you-crazy look (again,) and Omi glanced back a little further than the others.

"Uh... would now be a bad time to mention the group of angry stone chess pieces behind us?" he asked quietly. The Warriors turned, standing in a circle with their backs to the center.

"So, basically, we're screwed," Emma said. Kimiko nodded as she replied, trying not to look the snake in the eyes. "Ohh yeah."


	3. Chapter 3

Runa CH. 3

**A/N: Happy Labor Day! I updated. Crazy, ain't it? I am so dang close to having this thing done! SO CLOSE! Ahem. Chapter four will more'n likely take forever to get up, mostly because of the 'no screens' thing we do during the week at my house. Today being an exception because it's a holiday. In any case, have some Raikim. Enjoy!**

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!" The collective scream of the Xiaolin Warriors echoed down the pipes as they ran for their lives. An enormous viper and an army of giant chess pieces followed them, the chess pieces for revenge and the snake for reasons unknown. "This way!" Raimundo yelled, darting down a pipe that led towards a light source. It was painted a bright gold, though none of them noticed.

"Please don't be Voldemort, please don't be Voldemort, please don't be Voldemort," Emma chanted under her breath. They leapt out into where the pipe fed off, realizing what it was.

"A hallway?" Omi asked, looking down it. It wasn't unlike something you'd see in a hotel- normal wooden doors at even intervals down a carpeted hallway that stretched into the distance. The strangest thing about it, though, was that each door had someone's name on it.

"Guys, check it out!" Kimiko called, the others gathering near the door she was in front of. Her name was etched onto a small gold plaque that was on the door where a room number would normally be.

"Well... Ah say open it," Clay said, glancing down the pipe they'd come from. "Don't seem th' varmits chasin' us 're still on our trail."

Cautiously, Kimiko pushed open the door. She gasped when she saw what was behind it. "Oh. Em. Gee." A huge room full of the latest and greatest fashions was spread out in front of her. Accessories were on seemingly endless shelves, rows of shoes in every style and color everywhere.

"This is amazing," Kimiko said happily. "It's, like, my dream room! Dream closet, anyway."

Suddenly, Omi realized something. "Wait one moment. If this room has all of Kimiko's favorite things, then what is in the rooms with out names?" The Warriors shared a glance before running to the rooms that had the plaques with their names, Kimiko running happily into her endless closet.

Omi reached his first. Pulling it open, he gave a happy gasp at what he saw. A whole city dedicated to him! Buildings that clearly resonated of China lined beautiful, clean streets. People wearing robes like his walked down the streets, talking lightly of their daily business. Omi walked in, entranced. He passed by a newsscroll stand with headlines like 'Emperor Omi decrees National Omi Day' and 'New Show, Everybody Loves Omi, Is National Hit'.

"Emperor Omi!" A man that looked almost exactly like Grand Master Dashi wearing glasses and holding an armful of scrolls ran up to the little monk. "Why are you not in your palace, sir? The masses are awaiting a speech from their beloved Emperor!"

"Oh, uh, yes! Yes, of course, let us be rolling," Omi said, walking beside him to the huge palace in the center of the city. "I am sure that as Emperor, I have many important duties!"

"You most certainly do, your Majesty. First off is your signing of the Bill of Omi Rights..."

Raimundo was stoked. Actually, stoked didn't even begin to describe it. He was back in Rio de Janero, except... he wasn't. The beach was purged of all those annoying tourists, leaving it all to himself. The sun was shining, the waves were perfect, and there was a sweet new board leaning against the palm tree over there. And those _girls_. There were girls everywhere, all in bathing suits, and all fangirling over him.

"Oh my gosh, it's Raimundo Pedrosa!" a blonde squealed.

"The famous surfer?" a redhead asked excitedly.

"Duh! No other guy's that drop-dead sexy!" a girl that looked startlingly like Kimiko exclaimed.

"He's so much cooler than those other monks!"

"And his jokes are way better, too!"

"Let's go ask to watch him surf!" In seconds, Raimundo was mobbed by a ton of squealing fangirls.

"Ladies, ladies, please!" he said, raising his hands and giving them a devilish grin that made them swoon. "There's plenty of time to tell me how awesome I am."

Clay couldn't have been happier. He and Dojo were in a gorgeous ballroom, but that wasn't at all what made him so ecstatic. A feast fit for a king was laid out in front of him, every kind of meat from every kind of animal, foods from all nations, everything he could ever eat and more.

Dojo was wide-eyed from his perch on the Texan's hat. Food everywhere, all his favorite kinds, laid out on elegant tables in an equally elegant room. In his opinion, it was the meal he'd seen since... ever.

They dove in.

"Last, you must not ever stray from the path you've laid today. For if you give up the fight, the water takes your life tonight."

Emma stood outside her door. She could feel the magic resonating throughout the hallway, and had no doubts that the rooms behind the doors were enchanted. She'd watched the others go into their respective rooms, and it appeared that behind each door was the thing they coveted most. Emma wasn't sure she wanted to see what that was for her. She raised a hand to the doorknob, pausing a moment. Then she went higher, lightly brushing the plaque that said 'Emma' in beautiful cursive. It suddenly moved, making the Irish girl draw back in surprise. Her name shifted and faded, a new words coming to take it's place.

Emma squinted, adjusting the copper frames perched on her nose. When she saw what it was, her eyes widened, and she stumbled back. She then ran down the hallway, racing to the other's doors. Where her name had once been beautifully written, it had been replaced with an ugly scrawl. The word itself was cause enough for her fear, especially with her theory as to who had built the tunnels. On the plaque, the word SLOTH had been exchanged with her name.

She reached Kimiko's door, touching the plaque with her name. GREED came up instead of Kimiko, making Emma blanch. She pulled open the door, running inside to find Kimiko wearing a beautiful vibrant red ball gown with black flames along the hem, black pumps and black arm-length gloves. She didn't seem satisfied with her beauty, however, and shrieked in anger, ripping at the vibrant fabric of the dress. "NO! IT ISN'T GOOD ENOUGH!" she screeched, tearing through the clothes racks. "I NEED MORE!"

"Kimiko?" Emma whispered, tentatively approaching her hysteric friend. The Japanese girl whipped around, her hair in disarray, her makeup ruined and her dress in shambles. The most startling thing, though, were her eyes. They had become bloodshot and wide, her pupils turned into dots darting around like a cornered animal.

"Who are you? Are you here to take my things? They're MY things! Mine! Not yours!" she hissed, acting like a territorial animal.

"No, Kim, it's me, Emma. Y'know, that annoying chick that doesn't leave you alone?" she asked, giggling nervously. Kimiko bared her teeth, not reacting well to Emma's laughter.

"I don't know you, but you must lie! You ARE here to take my things!" Emma frowned, trying to think of a way to get Kimiko to leave the room. She figured that the rooms had spells on them, and once you left, the spell dissipated. Only problem was, how do you get someone to leave the place of their dreams?

"Think, Em. What would Raimundo do?" she muttered, wracking her brain for ideas. Then a slow grin spread across her face. "He'd annoy her, of course!" She pulled a canary yellow dress from one of the racks, holding it in front of her. "Hey, Kimiko, mind if I borrow this?"

The Japanese girl growled and lunged at Emma, who sidestepped and ran for the door. She dashed out into the hallway, Kimiko right on her heels. As soon as Kimiko left the room, however, both her dress and the one in Emma's hands dissipated into thin air. Kimiko stumbled forward, the aftershock of the spell having taken its toll. Emma moved forward and managed to catch her before she hit the carpet, helping her friend to stand. "Kimiko! You okay?"

Kimiko groaned. "I feel like I just ran a marathon wearing high heels, but... yeah. What the heck was that?"

"The third test. It's our greatest temptation, and the spell keeps you there forever, overindulging to the point of madness... at least until someone new comes along to get trapped," Emma replied. Kimiko stood herself up, her face a little paler than normal but otherwise unharmed. "Then what's happening to the others?"

"Probably the same thing that happened to you," Emma replied. "Speaking of." She walked forward and shut the door to Kimiko's room. "That's enough of that. Now let's go!" They ran over to Raimundo's door, pausing as Emma touched the plaque. ENVY returned in place of his name, and both girls glanced at each other. "Just a warning," Emma said quietly. "You're not gonna like what you see, so just remember, it's not really Raimundo."

Kimiko nodded, her nervousness apparent in her blue eyes. "Right. Here goes." She opened the door, both Warriors surprised at the beautiful scenery. A beautiful beach with glistening white sand sprawled out in front of them, sparkling turquoise water lapping up to meet the shore and reflecting the fluffy white clouds drifting along a perfect blue sky. Their attention was quickly drawn to the horde of screaming girls in bikinis at the shoreline, who were cheering Raimundo on as he caught a massive wave.

"Okay, you got a plan?" Emma asked quietly.

"What? I thought you had a plan!" Kimiko hissed.

"Since when am _I_ the one with the plans?"

"Since you're the one that can get us through magic barriers and crap!"

"One, it's an enchantment, not a barrier. Two, my plan was to get you and make you figure out the plan, 'cause you're way smarter than me!"

Kimiko sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. "Ugh. Fine. Lemme think... envy... and with... yeah, okay... I think I got something. Just let me do the talking." She headed towards the group of fangirls, Emma right behind. "Hey, Raimundo!" she yelled, waving. He glanced up at the familiar voice, breaking off from the wave and gliding to shore.

"Hey, Kimiko. Here to admire me with the others?" he asked, grinning. He looked normal enough, except for his eyes; what had once been a bright emerald had turned into an awful shade of green. Emma peered out from behind the group of girls, realizing why. "Green-eyed monster, yeowch," she muttered.

"Actually, Rai, I'm here to give you two options. One, come with me and Emma. Two, come with me and Emma."

"Oh yeah? And why should I?" Raimundo asked, planting his feet and crossing his arms.

"Here's an idea." Emma had expected Kimiko to lunge at the Brazilian, hands aflame. She didn't. At all. Instead, she grabbed him by the front of his shirt (which was somehow not wet or covered in sand,) and pulled him down to kiss him. Everyone but Kimiko was wide-eyed in surprise, and she quickly let go, Raimundo paralyzed from shock. "Quick, grab him!" Kimiko said.

"Oh, right!" Emma grabbed his legs while Kimiko took his arms and they made a mad dash for the door. The fangirls cried out in horror, running after them. "Kimiko, they're gaining!" Emma yelled, glancing back. "Also, our fearless leader needs to lose some weight, 'cause my back's already sore..."

"Hold him!" Kimiko commanded, letting Emma prop him up against a rock as she moved back. "Wudai Mars, Fire!" A stream of flame erupted from her hands, aimed straight for the other girls. They shrieked in terror and moved back, but didn't run away. "Oh, for the love of- how do I chase 'em off without hurting them?" Kimiko yelled at Emma.

"They're magical constructs, burn all ya like," Emma called back, sitting next to Raimundo to watch. Kimiko grinned and turned back to the girls, who had tried to advance again. "Works for me!" she cackled, sending a massive wall of flame at them. They screamed as it hit them, and began to melt as the fire sizzled out on the sand. "Eww."

"C'mon, Kim, we don't have a lot of time!" Emma said, dragging Raimundo's body towards the door. Kimiko dashed over and helped, pulling Raimundo out into the hall as Emma slammed the door shut. He groaned and rubbed his head, blinking his eyes open. Both girls were relieved to see that they had returned to their normal shade, although Raimundo seemed confused.

"Uh... where are we?" he asked, looking around.

"You don't remember?" Kimiko asked.

"I remember going into the door, and seeing the beach, but after that it's all one big green blur," he muttered, standing. "What happened?"

"Basically, you went in, got taken over by the envy you have for others and needed a support group, i.e. rabid fangirls. While that may have looked like pride, your folly is in counting yourself short and wishing you could be better, when what you don't realize is that you're just as good as anyone else, and that's why you were chosen to be leader," Emma said, pulling a bubble pipe out of nowhere. "Also, Kimiko-"

"- Rescued you!" the Japanese girl interrupted, grinning nervously. "I, uh, melted the fangirls."

"Oh. Well, thanks." He glanced around. "Wait, what's with the doors?"

"The rooms trap you using your greatest weakness and/or biggest temptation," Kimiko said. "Emma can explain it in detail later, but for now, Omi, Clay and Dojo are still trapped. This way!" They ran down the hall, stopping at Omi's door. Emma touched the plaque, wincing when the word PRIDE replaced his name.

They walked in, gawking at the beautiful city around them. "It's a city of Omi," Raimundo said, and the girls nodded in agreement. It was like the time they had gone to find Omi's parents, except this place was clean and bright and metropolitan, to a level. Stands sold various goods, scrolls proclaiming the latest news from Emperor Omi lining the cobblestone streets. They walked down the streets, heading for the huge palace in the center of the city. A statue of Omi was in front, not surprisingly, and two guards stood at the front of the giant doors that led inside.

"How do we get in?" Kimiko asked.

"Easy," Raimundo said, grinning. "I've seen this in movies tons of times. Just follow my lead!" He walked up to the guards, who glared at him. "Excuse me, good sirs, but my friends and I have an audience with the Emperor."

"Who are you?" the one on the right asked, squinting.

"We're the Official Party Planners of his Highness, of course," he said, his tone turning haughty. "How can you not know who we are?"

"Uh-"

"If you cannot properly recognize those that are coming to meet the Emperor, how can you do your job right? Why, I have half a mind to tell him of the extents of your ineptitude!" he barked, jabbing him in the chest. "First you ask who we are and then you keep us waiting? The Emperor's time is valuable!"

"O-of course, our mistake," the guard said, moving aside and unlocking the doors. Raimundo nodded curtly and strode through, saying "It is indeed." The other two followed him, all three breaking into giggles when the doors closed behind them.

"Circus days?" Kimiko asked, grinning.

"You know it!" he replied, high-fiving her. "Now let's go find Omi!" They walked towards what seemed to be the center of the palace, Raimundo using his powers to guide them via drafts. They quickly made it to the throne room, pushing open the doors to see a huge grand hall. A table was laid out in front with a feast fit for a king, and it certainly seemed Omi was being treated like one. He was sitting on a throne, surrounded by courtiers, oozing praise about his every move.

"OMI!" all three teenagers yelled, shoving past attendants to get to the boy. He seemed shocked to see them, as did his courtiers. They formed a sort of blockade around him, making the trio skid to a halt. A mix of confusion and surprise was visible on Omi's face, which only served to worry the others more.

"Remember, the driving force here is pride," Emma whispered to Raimundo and Kimiko. "Play to his ego. Get him out of here and run."

"You're talking like you won't be there to help," Kimiko whispered back.

"I won't. Somebody's gotta distract the toadies," Emma added when it looked like they were about to protest. "And y'all know I'm best qualified for ruckus duty."

Raimundo nodded slowly. "Yeah. Yeah, okay. We'll meet you back in the hallway, alright?"

"Right," Emma replied. "Unless I'm dead."

"Dea-"

"Who are you and why do you enter the Emperor's throne room in such a manner?" one courtier asked, stepping forward. Emma pushed her glasses up and stepped forward as well, crossing her arms.

"We're here to make it easy for you," she said as Kimiko and Raimundo slipped behind the throne. "We're gonna kidnap the Emperor, so you can either hand him over quietly or lose a fight."

"Ha! Emperor Omi's palace is impenetrable. You couldn't get him out, and now that you've revealed your infantile plan, neither will you!" he crowed, eliciting nods and murmurs of agreement. Emma casually pointed at the throne, making all of them turn. It was empty. They whirled back around to Emma, who was grinning maniacally.

"Catch me if you can!" she yelled, darting away. "GET HER!" the head courtier yelled, the whole group running after the cackling teenager. The second they left the room, however, Raimundo peered out from behind the throne. He and Kimiko cautiously walked out, Omi wrapped in a tapestry to keep him from struggling.

"Let's go," Kimiko said. They went out a door in the back that was probably used for servants. They managed to make it out of the castle without running into anyone, but ducked into a back alley when they got into the village. "How are we gonna get past all those villagers without getting seen?" Kimiko whispered. Raimundo frowned, looking around the grungy alley.

"Okay, here's what we'll do. I'll take that rope over there, and then you-"

"_**AY-KAI-KAI-KAIIIII!**_" Both teens turned to the source of the scream, eyes going wide at what they saw. Emma ran by, an insane grin on her face, with almost the entire castle behind her. They guessed by the sparks her heels were kicking up that she was using a spell to make herself fast enough to avoid capture, but slow enough so that they thought they still had a chance of catching her. Raimundo and Kimiko exchanged a glance, then grabbed Omi and ran the opposite way while all the villagers were watching the chase.

They darted behind newsscroll stands and houses as they made their way back to the door. Why nobody questioned a random door in the middle of the road at the end of town was beyond them, but they had more pressing matters at the moment. Emma rocketed by, yelling "_HurryguysIthinkthey'reontous!_" Both teens glanced back to see the courtiers advancing rapidly. They turned back to the door, where Emma already stood, and ran. They made it through with seconds to spare, Emma slamming the door behind them. She turned back to Raimundo and Kimiko, who had set Omi on the floor. The tapestry they'd wrapped around him was gone, as were his formal robes.

He blinked slowly, looking around. "... Why do I feel as if I have been stepped upon by several annoyed pachyderms?"

"OMI!" the other three cried, group hugging him. "We missed you!" Kimiko said happily.

"Was I gone?" Omi squeaked. They released him, and Raimundo patted him on the head. "You could day that," he chuckled.

"But... where are Clay and Dojo?" he asked, glancing between the other three.

"Aw, frag!" Emma yelped, eyes going wide. "C'mon, let's go!" The four Warriors ran down the hallway, stopping at the door labeled Clay. Emma tapped it, going pale when the word GLUTTONY replaced his name. "No..."

"Emma?" Kimiko asked gently, putting a hand on her friend's shoulder. "You gonna be okay? You can stay out here..."

Emma shook her head. "No. I'd be worse off out here wondering what's goin' on than in there helpin'."

"Then let's do this!" Raimundo yelled, throwing open the door. The kids were surprised to see a huge banquet hall, with food everywhere. Tables were laid out like a maze, piled high with all sorts of delicacies. "Uh... Clay?" the Shoku called. "You in here, dude?"

"Look at all the meat," Emma said, shuddering. "I feel like I'm in a slaughterhouse." And indeed, most of the food was comprised of meat or some sort of dessert. The odd thing was, none of it looked like it had been touched. Omi walked over to a table and picked up a cupcake, examining it. Another cupcake sprung up in it's place, making him start and drop his cupcake.

"Oh, I think I get it," Kimiko said. "It's a literal all-you-can-eat buffet. Even if you eat everything, it just keeps coming back."

"And I bet it has no negative side effects," Raimundo said, catching on. "Like everything's zero calories or whatever. You can just keep eating and eating and eating, without any consequences."

Emma bit her lip and walked further in. "Clay? Dojo? Where are you guys?" The hall got progressively darker, and she shuddered when she realized the others had gone off in a different direction. "Okay, so this just got creepy. Guys? Hello? Anybody?" She continued down the pathway, trying to ignore the blackness creeping in. Then, just ahead, she saw the silhouette of someone lying down. She gasped and darted forward, kneeling next to them.

"... Clay?" He groaned, rolling over to look at her. He didn't look any different at first glance, but a closer look said otherwise. His skin was a shade of gray that was too close to that of a corpse for Emma's liking. His face was tinged with green and his eyes were dull and hollow. "Oh, Clay," she whispered in a mixture of pity and admonishment. "What did you do to yourself?"

"Too... much..." he whispered, turning over again and groaning. Emma gently pulled him up, getting him to stand, though he had to lean on her for support.

"C'mon, big guy," she grunted, helping him walk. "No negative side effects, huh? Spell must've gone on too long. Sure took a lot outta ya." Clay just nodded weakly, doing his best not to collapse. As they reentered the beginning of the hall, they nearly ran into the other three. Raimundo was holding a limp Dojo, who was several shades paler than he should have been.

"We gotta get 'em outside," Kimiko said. "That's when the enchantment wears off." Raimundo nodded and handed Dojo to Omi, going to help Emma support Clay. They got out with no trouble, setting Clay and Dojo down as Omi closed the door. Clay tried to stand, but doubled over and began vomiting. Everyone winced, even Dojo, who managed to keep his food down.

After about two minutes straight of throwing up, Clay finally emptied his stomach. He wiped his mouth off and coughed quietly, but managed to stand. He and Dojo were still both too pale, but the little dragon looked better and the light was returning to Clay's eyes. "Remind me never to do that again," he said hoarsely.

"Will do," Raimundo chuckled.

"You gonna be okay?" Emma asked, unnaturally quiet.

"Y-yeah, Ah'll be fine," the Texan said, nodding. "But we'd better get a move on." He picked up Dojo and let him curl around his hat, and started down the hall with the others. They walked back to the pipe, going through and looking both ways.

"I think we're in the clear," Raimundo said. "I can't hear anything; the chess pieces must have gone back, and the snake's gone."

"Me neither," said Kimiko. "But let's keep going just in case they decide to come back." The others nodded, setting off in the opposite direction from where they'd come.

Meanwhile, a pair of amber eyes narrowed. "They can't be trapped, they can't be fooled and they can't be discouraged," a voice hissed, filled with annoyance. "Then perhaps it's time we circle back. The tests were necessary, yes, but this time you are free to kill them."

A red pair of eyes disappeared into the dark.

**A/N: See that button down there? The one that says review? It loves you. You should click it. If you don't, it has no reason to exist. Are you really going to take away the review button's purpose in life? ARE YOU THAT CRUEL?**

**Emma: Yes.**

**I wasn't talking to you!**

**Emma: Oh, I wasn't either.**

**Oh, okay then. Wait, what was I saying?**

**Emma: That you're gonna write a story where Clay confesses his undying love for me?**

**You wish.**

**Emma: I do.**

**Anyway, please review! **


	4. Chapter 4

CH. 4

**HEY YOU GUYS!  
>Emma: Kill me now.<br>I very well might. Anyway, thanks BOTH PEOPLE who voted on my poll and inspired me to get Runa back up and running. Also thanks to XboneX for nominating me in TheXGrayXLady's Awards competition! Hugs all around!  
>On another note, EMMA STOP BEING SUCH A SUE AAARGH.<br>Emma: I can't help it! You're the one writing me!  
>Well… go die.<br>Emma: Looks like I'm about to.  
>Agh! Spoiler alert, spoiler alert!<br>Emma: Oops… eheh. My bad. Enjoy!**

"Are we getting close?" Omi asked. The Xiaolin Dragons, plus Emma and Dojo, had been plodding through huge metal pipes for the last half hour. The air was damp and musty, which made Kimiko complain about her hair. Water dripped from above, making Raimundo shiver. Clay and Dojo's conditions had been improving, though it was taking quite a bit longer than they'd expected. The enchantment from the rooms had affected them longer than the others, so it was taking them longer to recover.

"Yeah," Dojo said, still very subdued. "Take a left here." The Warriors did as they were told, Dojo's Wu-senses leading them through the maze of pipe work. Emma frowned, thinking. They were in a literal maze of pipes under Troy, where there shouldn't have been any remains, much less this. Enchanted rooms, chess pieces, a giant snake and now this. The Irish girl's suspicions were quickly being confirmed, though she didn't want to admit it.

"About how much longer until we reach the Zenith Mirror?" Kimiko groaned.

"I'd say fifteen minutes at the least," Dojo sighed. "This place is just barely letting me feel it; I'm surprised I can even smell in here." Emma's frown deepened. She knew she needed to tell them soon. However, her concentration was broken when she stepped into water. She blinked, looking down the pipe. What was illuminated by the Tenzin Torch showed a few inches of murky, brackish water at the bottom. "Hey, guys," she said. "Quick question."

"Yuh-huh?" Raimundo replied, bending down to poke at the freezing water.

"When I was talking about the three trials, did I mention anything about water?" she asked fearfully.

"Yeah, several times," Kimiko answered. "Why?"

"'Cause I think it was for more than the purpose of rhyming," Emma said fearfully. "We gotta hurry!" The Dragons exchanged glances, dashing down the tunnel. They soon realized that the closer Dojo guided them to the Mirror, the deeper the water was getting. By the time Dojo told them they weren't five minutes away from the Shen Gong Wu, the water was up to Omi's waist and everyone else's knees. "It's even closer," Dojo muttered, shuddering.

"Take a left." They complied. Suddenly, Emma shrieked as she slipped and fell face first into the murky water. She surfaced a moment later, spluttering and trying to pull sheets of wet hair away from her face.

"You alright?" Clay asked, moving to help her. She held up a hand, making him freeze.

"There's a drop here," she said, removing her glasses to be cleaned. "You- blech- gotta be careful. It's like a ramp; I can feel it going down more."

"Perhaps that is what you meant," Omi suggested. "For all who seek to enter here/ Thy lives must be held close and dear/ For when the tide comes up to drown/ Trespassers will be going down/ Into the ocean's mirthless black/ So take the right and don't look back/ Three trials are what you shall find/ Succeeding will take strength of mind/ Courage is the test first faced/ To make it, you must be fast-paced/ Secondly, a test of mind/ Death is what the failures find/ Last you must not ever stray/ From the path you've laid today/ For if you give up the fight/ The water takes your life tonight."

"So, the first test, courage and speed, was the chasm," Raimundo began. "The second was the chessboard, a test of mind. And the last one was temptation, which tried to lead us astray. So, I think the whole 'giving up the fight' thing means stopping just because the water's rising."

Kimiko nodded. "It mentioned the ocean earlier, so I bet it'll keep going until it fills the pipes. High and low tide, right?"

"Sounds about right," Clay said. "Ah bet th' room with th' Shen Gong Wu is still dry as a bone. So if we find that..."

"We get our exit," Emma finished, beaming. "Sweet! Except for one thing."

"What's that?" Raimundo asked.

"The ramp," Emma said. She pointed to the tunnel, and Clay held up the Tenzin Torch. It's light showed that the pipe did indeed go down into the water, getting steeper and steeper until it was completely submerged. "The only Wu we have is the Torch, and while that gives us light underwater, it won't let us breathe." Raimundo frowned. "What I wouldn't give for the Gills of Hamachi right about now... hmm. Omi, do you think you could make a sort of air bubble around us if I helped? I could keep the air concentrated and you could hold the water in its shape."

"It is worth a try," the smallest monk replied. He turned and waded farther and farther into the water, until it was up to his chin. The others followed, being careful not to slip on the descent. Once they were all gathered around Omi, he closed his eyes and concentrated. "Wudai Neptune, Water!" His dots glowed, and he spun around. The water around him was pushed away, and the Warriors pulled close as Raimundo began his part.

"Wudai Star, Wind!" Wind surged around them, pushing the water away even more. "Go down!" he yelled over the roar of wind and rush of water. The others obeyed, and Raimundo and Omi went with them, pulling the circle around the Warriors further down until they were completely submerged. Omi kept his arms spread, keeping the water at bay, and Raimundo guided the air bubble through the pipe.

"It smells like… _fish_ in here," Omi complained, waving a hand in front of his nose. "This is most disgusting!"

"Better smelling the fish than swimming with them," Kimiko muttered, shivering. "Look." The others peered out, squinting, into the murky water, and started when they saw the shapes moving around. Since the air bubble was only in contact with the floor, fish swam around and above them. The creatures looked like they came from the darker recesses of the ocean, with gaping maws full of sharp, jagged teeth and pale, sightless eyes. Some looked like eels, and an octopus swam by, glowing brightly for a moment before slipping back into the blackness.

"Okaaaay, this just got creepy," Emma muttered, scooting closer to Clay. "Can we go home now?"

"And risk losing the Zenith Mirror? No way! If the Heylin had it they'd be able to see into the Temple, the Vault, even the center of the earth without having to go there. We need to keep it out of their hands long enough to get the Nadir Mirror," Dojo said. "And there are… other properties the mirrors posses together. Less desirable ones."

"That sounds like it could be an important plot device, but I'm too tired and hungry to care! Also, I'm missing the new episodes of My Little Pony and The Walking Dead," Emma said. They continued down until Omi paused, making everyone else stop for fear of getting sucked into the watery blackness.

"What's wrong, Omi?" Kimiko asked, looking down at the boy. He frowned and moved his hands upwards, staring into the abyss like he was trying to feel something. "It just... stops," Omi murmured. "The pipe continues upwards, and there are several smaller pipes around us, but we are at a deceased end otherwise."

"Can you an' Rai make the bubble go up?" Clay asked, glancing down at the slick metal they all stood on. "Ah mean, Ah'd hate to get in that water jus' as much as th' rest of ya, but Ah don't think we got much of a choice."

"Uh… anybody else smell calamari?" Kimiko asked. Everyone turned around to give her a weird look, and she shrugged. "What? Squid has a very distinct smell."

"Hey, Ah smell somethin' too," Clay said, holding a hand to his nose. "Where's that coming from?"

Omi's eyes widened and he tugged on Clay's sleeve, pointing the way that they had come. Clay turned around and held up the Tenzin Torch, blue eyes going wide at the sight of the creature behind them. A huge, pale squid filled the entire passageway, it's tentacles trailing behind it as it swam. The only odd things about it, other than its size, were its eyes, which were a glowing red.

"First a giant snake, then a giant squid. Great. Just great. Next let's have a giant spider so all my giant animal fears can be reinforced!" Emma said in a sarcastically cheerful voice, making jazz hands and completely ignoring the problem.

"MOVE!" Raimundo yelled, acknowledging said problem. The Warriors ran to the wall, where the Tenzin Torch lit up the pipe that blocked off their escape route. "Going up!" He and Omi both pushed down, and suddenly, the dragons of Fire and Earth and the resident witch were on their backs, as the force of the bubble's acceleration shoved them down. Surprisingly, they all stayed inside the bubble, but none tried to leave. The bubble's edges weren't touching the pipe, which made everyone realize how wide the tunnel had gotten.

The squid was advancing quickly, and they knew it would catch them if they didn't find a way to hide. But that opportunity was presented when they rocketed up, out of the water and into air. The bubble burst and sent everyone careening onto what seemed to be stone. They all groaned as they sat up, rubbing whatever unfortunate appendage they had landed on. After standing, they realized they were in a huge, circular chamber, which was far higher than it was big. Actually, in terms of length, it seemed to be about seventy feet in circumference. The ceilings disappeared into the dark, and a chill permeated the air. A semicircle of water was where they had come up from, and they stood on a semicircle of stone that was only about a foot or two thick. The wall of the tunnel was just the pipe itself, but against the wall that the stone platform rested against was a huge wooden door. Actually, it was a set of double doors that looked like a single door, but upon closer inspection one could tell that they were separate. Ornate carvings covered the doors and their doorframe, and in the center, the letters WG were inside a giant circle.

"WG?" Omi asked, approaching the door. "What does that stand for?"

"Oh, no," Dojo muttered, eyes going wide.  
>"Please tell me that isn't what I think it is," Emma squeaked.<p>

Dojo glanced at her. "I think it is what you think I think you think it is. I think."

"We're doomed," she moaned, hiding her eyes. "So very, very doomed."

"What're you two goin' on about an' what do you know that we don't?" Clay asked. Dojo sighed and slithered off his hat and onto the ground, turning to face everyone.

"I know what this is because I've been around enough. Emma probably knows because of her magic studies, right?" he asked, glancing at the Irish girl. She nodded and Dojo continued. "Those tests, the tunnels underneath Troy, of all places, my Wu senses going haywire- I'm surprised I didn't realize it sooner."

"Well, expectorate it!" Omi cried, waving his arms. "What does WG stand for?"

"It stands for-" but before Dojo could complete his sentence, a pale tentacle wrapped around him and pulled him back into the water. "DOJO!" everyone screamed.

"C'mon!" Emma yelled, running towards the water along with Omi, who was closest.

"Wait, what was Dojo about to say?" Raimundo asked, running after her. She paused before turning back around to answer. "You know that, since I'm a witch, not an elemental, my studies were slightly different than yours. Well, at one point, I studied magic cults and groups, almost clubs, if you will. WG are the initials of one of the groups, the most deadly. They called themselves the-" but a tentacle wrapped around her mouth, cutting her off and dragging her into the water as well.

"EMMA!" they yelled. "Is it just me or does this thing have a grudge against us trying to figure out who wants us dead?" Raimundo cried in frustration. Omi didn't hesitate and jumped in, ignoring Kimiko's cry of worry.

"Standing here won't do 'em any good," Clay said. "C'mon!" He clenched the Torch between his teeth, pirate style, and dove into the water after Omi. With their light source rapidly sinking, Raimundo and Kimiko glanced at each other and jumped in. They ignored the sting of the freezing water against their skin and followed the Tenzin Torch's glow, down a few feet into the murky depths. The squid still had Emma and Dojo in its grip, and Omi was already down there, trying to free them. Clay was close behind, moving out of the way just a second before a larger tentacle would have hit him.

"MMPH!" Dojo cried, his mouth still covered by the tentacle. He clawed at it as the squid swung him out of the way so it could get a clear shot at Raimundo. "MMPH MMPH MMPH!" He pointed frantically to a spot in the center of the tentacles, but Kimiko was the only one to notice. The Japanese girl grabbed a tentacle and hung on as the squid tried to shake her off, trying to see what Dojo was pointing at. In the middle of the tentacles was a beak, snapping open and closed.

'That must be a weak spot,' Kimiko thought, but her train of thought was interrupted when the squid slammed her against the pipe. Luckily, she wasn't hurt too badly, and managed to swim over to Raimundo while Omi distracted it. She tugged on his sleeve and pointed to the beak, and his eyes widened in comprehension. He swam over to the nearest tentacle and grabbed it, hanging on as the squid slung him towards Clay. He let to in time for Clay to grab it and wrap it around another tentacle in a knot. He gave Raimundo a thumbs-up and went for the next tentacle while Kimiko swam closer and closer to the beak. As the guys tied the squid's appendages together, Omi managed to free Dojo. Emma, however, had yet to get loose, and was losing air fast.

"Mmph! Mmph! Mmph…" Her struggling had become noticeably weaker, and had the others not been so busy, they might have seen it. But they had a lot on their hands, and even the Xiaolin Dragons needed oxygen. So when only half the tentacles had been tied together and the other half were still lashing violently at them, they realized just how much they needed air. They surfaced for oxygen only for a moment, diving back down again to finish the job. But by the time they reached the place the squid had once been, it had managed to free its tentacles and jet off into the blackness.

"Pfah!" Omi was the last to surface. He spat out more water before managing to speak. "Emma is not down there, and neither is the squid!"

"No! She'll die in a few minutes if she don't get any air in her!" Clay said, looking around frantically. "Where's it takin' her, anyway?" Everyone turned to Dojo, who had managed to slither onto the stone platform.

"What we were trying to say," he panted, still short of breath, "is that WG stand for the Wizard's Guild. An old, old club, created before even Dashi's time, but they were always the most powerful. Their roster changes every century or so, which is pretty often for a club like that. Not to mention the fact that their headquarters can be found in almost every country to accommodate how many members they have. The squid tried to grab us because we smell like magic more than you four. Elemental magic is quiet, but dragonism and backwards magic are loud. If she hasn't gotten free by now, it's taking her to whoever's in charge of the guild."

"And I'm guessing you have no idea who that is," Raimundo wheezed, clambering up onto the platform as well. He helped Kimiko climb on as Omi followed.

"Ah… no. It used to be Wuya, actually." Everyone started and, if they weren't looking at Dojo before, they were now. "Well, okay, she wasn't in _charge_, but she was pretty high up. Then she got kicked out for some reason or another. I'm not exactly sure what it was; I don't pay much attention to the Heylin social circles."

"Okay, okay, so we know Wuya was in this Wizard's Guild. That means they're pretty tough, right?" Raimundo asked, beginning to pace. Dojo nodded and he continued. "Right. So whoever's in charge now obviously knows what they're doing with all these traps and stuff. And he or she knows that Emma's got a connection to magic. Question is, why would they take her instead of just, y'know, getting rid of her and eliminating some competition?" Raimundo asked.

"Think about it, Rai. If you had the world's greatest soccer player and could either have them on your team or dead, which would you choose?" Kimiko asked.

"Kimiko has a spike."

"Ya mean point."

"Oh, yes, thank you, Clay. But Kimiko has a point! Emma is probably still alive," Omi said, smiling. "We will surely rescue her!"

"So, how do we get past the huge door?" Raimundo asked, striding to stand in front of the massive wooden door. "I don't see any handles or anything."

"We knock," Clay replied, cracking his knuckles. He walked up to the door as well, raised his fist- and knocked three times.

"C'mon, Clay, that's not gonna-" Kimiko's argument was cut short when the doors swung open, revealing nothing but darkness beyond. "- work."

"Let's go," Clay said, picking up the Tenzin Torch from where he had laid it on the floor and leading the others into the blackness, letting Dojo crawl up his arm and onto his hat. What was lit up by the Torch's glow was a corridor, except instead of pipe, it was made of stone. Bleak gray cobblestones were underneath their feet, but the Warriors stuck to the red carpet that was laid out over the stones. The corridor wasn't very wide, but it, like the chamber from before, was incredibly tall, with ceilings vanishing into the shadows. The walls, too, were gray stone, with ornate paintings of people on either side, with ornate bronze frames and curtains in red velvet the same shade as the carpet.

"Dojo, are those the witches and wizards who used to be part of this guild?" Omi asked.

"Yeah," Dojo replied, shuddering. "But it's not all of them, not by a long shot."

"Maybe it's just the ones that used this particular base," Kimiko offered.

"Probably," Raimundo agreed. Kimiko smiled at him and he returned it; both knew what the other was thinking. They needed something, anything, to keep their minds off Emma's capture. Raimundo may not have been particularly fond of the girl, but they were all friends, and her absence was odd. He had half expected it to be like the old days, before she had joined, but now it was just… quiet. Had it always been this quiet without the boisterous (albeit annoying) addition?

Then a movement from behind them startled Raimundo out of his reverie. The doors they had entered from swung shut with a silent finality. Now the hallway pitch-black, save for the circle of light cast by the Tenzin Torch.

Finally, after what felt like an eternity of tense silence, Clay said what they were all thinking. "… Well. Guess that's that."

Omi nodded. "There is no going back now." And with one last glance at the place where the door had let in a few pale rays of light, they turned back and continued on. No, there was no going back, but if they had known what lay ahead, they surely would have tried.

**Emma: I hate you so much right now.  
>Heh heh heh.<br>Emma: C'mon, guys! The more you review the faster she'll update! I have to know what happens! **_**I DON'T WANNA**_** DIE!****  
><strong>**EDIT: Fixed the weird paragraph spacing! Thanks to TheXGrayXLady for pointing it out. XD**


	5. Chapter 5

CH. 5

_**SPOILER ALERT! SPOILER ALERT! SKIP TO NEXT PART IF YOU DON'T WANT!**_First off, I would just like to say that the Chance Young in this is NOT the same Chance Young in TheXGrayXLady's ADVENTURES OF CHANCE YOUNG. (It's a boss story, though. Go check it out!)I promise, _I didn't steal the name_. I've been working on Chance's design since before she first posted it, so I'm not gonna change his name, but I'm also not gonna claim any naming rights. Just wanted to clear that up. Thanks you muchly.**  
><strong>

**A/N: Man, riddles are hard to make up. Obviously, I only did Clay and Raimundo's; Omi and Kimiko's are just old ones. But I think I did okay. Feel free to follow along and try to solve them yourself before you read the answer. Oh, and as a little bonus, we get to see why I called this story Runa. Well, it was actually me typing in Rune and pressing the a key instead of the e key, but I liked Runa so much I kept it.  
>Emma: Shut up and get on with it! That last chapter was the worst cliffhanger ever!<br>Hush, I'm getting to that. Thanks to everybody who reviewed; you guys always make my day. And now, the next exciting installment of Runa! Enjoy!**

Before Emma even opened her eyes, she knew she was by water. The tide could be heard lapping gently against what she assumed was stone, and the smell of the ocean permeated the air. But something else was in the air, too, and when she sniffed, she could identify it. Salt. The ocean. Once she listened for it, she could make out the steady hum of magic and the wet splashes of dead (and living) things in jars of fluid. She would have opened her eyes to better assess her surroundings, but there was one small problem.

She was blindfolded.

And hogtied, it seemed. Her wrists were bound to her ankles, in rope that was scratchy and tight. She was sitting up against what felt like bars, and from the smell they gave off in the damp air, she guessed that they were rusty. Her jacket, shirt and pants were dry, but her shoes and socks still felt a tad damp. Her glasses weren't on and her thick hair still retained too much water, and she felt incredibly sore, but otherwise she was relatively intact.

"Hello?" she called, listening to the echo bounce. Since sound waves reverberated better off of hard objects than soft ones, she guessed that the walls were probably stone, and that the only soft object was the water she heard. There was probably a hole for someone to enter and exit the pipes, and when they flooded, it became an underwater dock. The last thing she remembered was… oh, right. The squid. That tentacle did _not_ taste like sushi, and the water had been far too cold for her liking. But since nobody had replied, the others had (hopefully) gotten away. That gave her a small sense of hope.

"YO!" she yelled. "Anybody home? These ropes are chafing big time." When nobody answered, Emma huffed and let her head drop to her chest. She was tired and sore, and the lapping of the waves was very melodic. Suddenly, she realized just _how_ tired and sore. Since the others probably wouldn't get to her for a bit, she figured it was okay to… take a… little… nap…

* * *

><p>"Hold up!" Dojo's cry stopped the Xiaolin Dragons in their tracks. They had been walking for what seemed like an eternity, but was probably only a few minutes, down a long, tall corridor filled with paintings of Heylin witches and wizards that seemed to be staring at them.<p>

"What is wrong, Dojo?" Omi asked, striking a pose. "Is there an intruder?"

"N-no, it's the Zenith Mirror!" Dojo yelped, grabbing his nose. "The signal just spiked! I think somebody's trying to use it!"

"That means…" Kimiko began, almost too afraid to finish. Raimundo noticed and finished for her.

"… somebody got through before us," he murmured. "And I don't think Spicer could've survived this long." They all exchanged a glance before charging ahead. Only moments later did they find what they needed most; a door. Unlike the giant, ornate door that had led them into the passage, this was a simple one. It was made of metal, and if it had been painted the same teal-green as the pipes, they might have mistaken it for the same material. But this was a thicker metal, and it had no handle, only a slot for someone to look out.

Clay knocked again, but this time nothing happened. "Awright," he said, turning to face the others. "Anybody got any ideas on how we get in?"

"Oh, that's easy," a voice from the other side of the door murmured. The Dragons jumped, then looked back to the door. The slot pulled open, but they could see no one. The silky voice continued, and from the soprano pitch, they assumed it was a young woman. "All you four have to do is answer a riddle and I can let you in."

"A riddle?" Kimiko asked hesitantly. Emma was the best at riddles, and now they didn't have her. However, Clay was good at them, too, and Omi might know it if it was an ancient proverb or something. "Okay. Give it to us."

"You certainly sound ready," the voice said demurely, "but it isn't that easy."

"Of course it isn't," Raimundo muttered, frowning.

"Each one of you must answer a riddle. That does not include the dragon," she added, making Dojo give a relieved sigh. "I will not ask you a riddle you can not figure out the answer to. The Wizard's Guild may be Heylin-based, but they are not without honor. So, with that in mind, who would like to go first?" The Dragons glanced at each other before Clay stepped forward.

"Ah think Ah'll be goin' first, ma'am," he said.

"Excellent. Please set down the dragon, and remember, if you get any help at all from your friends you will be disqualified and I will be forced to remove you." The Dragons shared a glance again; they didn't need to guess at what removal meant. "Are you ready?"

Clay set Dojo on the ground and let him slither next to Omi before turning to face the door again. "Yes'm."

"Good. Here is your riddle:

_You know me as a fickle thing;_

_I'm said to pick and choose._

_But chance is all that I can bring,_

_I make the winners lose._

_Some blame me for their losses all_

_And others for their gain._

_But as a woman, I stand tall_

_Can you tell me my name?"_

Clay beamed. "Well, Ah'd have to call ya Lady Luck, if anything."

"Clever boy!" the voice said, seemingly delighted at the answer. "You are correct! And now if the next contestant will step forward, please." Raimundo switched places with Clay, giving Kimiko a nervous smile before facing the door. "Are you ready?"

"Yes," he replied, and though his stance was strong, his voice wavered slightly.

"Oh, but you don't sound ready. Nevertheless, we must press on! Your riddle is as follows:

_I'm under the bed,_

_I'm inside your head_

_And shadows and bumps in the night._

_Sometimes I'm silent_

_And sometimes I'm loud_

_To cause a great ruckus of fright._

_Sometimes you see me_

_And sometimes you don't_

_But I'm always inside of your mind_

'_Cause I don't exist_

_Though I don't desist_

_Scaring those not of my kind_

_What am I?"_

"You're… uh…" Raimundo paused and scratched his head as he thought.

"Take your time, take your time. But don't take too much, because your friends need some too," the voice chirped. Raimundo thought about questioning the odd remark, then decided not to and went back to pondering the riddle. "Inside my mind… inside my head… under the bed… bumps in the night- oh! You're a monster!" he said, smiling.

"Correct! Excellent deduction. Alright, then, who's next?" Kimiko stepped forward, nodding bravely at Raimundo as they switched places. "Are you ready?"

"Yes," Kimiko replied, crossing her arms.

"Very good. Your riddle is this:

_What is one thing that weighs little, but few can hold it?"_

"Oh! I know that one!" Raimundo began. "It's-"

"Careful, now, Dragon of Wind!" the voice sang. "Remember, your friend will be disqualified if you speak out of place, so I suggest you hold your tongue!" Though the voice hadn't lost any cheerfulness, there was a definite undertone of malice. "Which negates one of the answers for you, Miss Tohomiko."

"O-oh, right. Sorry, Kim." Kimiko glared at Raimundo, who shrugged weakly, and turned back to the door.

"That's… not what I was expecting," Kimiko admitted. "No rhyming, eh?"

"No, ma'am!" the voice replied. "Remember, each riddle is tailored specifically to it's recipient, and prose does not suit you. But your time is slipping away, so I suggest setting that brilliant mind of yours to work."

"How do you- nevermind. The answer is… um. If it weighs little, but few can hold it… then maybe it's not an object at all. If it- oh! A temper!" Kimiko said triumphantly.

"That's correct! Good job, and now if the last contestant would please step forward." Omi gave the others a nervous smile and traded places with Kimiko. "Are you ready?"

"Yes," he replied, steeling himself for whatever might come.

"Then here is your riddle:

"_What's not complicated, but hard to grasp?"_

"I know the answer," Omi replied, beaming. "A bar of soap!"

"Easy enough, yes? See, you all had nothing to worry about," the voice said cheerfully. "And now it is my pleasure to grant you entrance into Runa! We hope you have a pleasant stay!" The door swung open, showing another, smaller, more well lit corridor beyond. The Dragons exchanged a glance and Dojo crawled back onto Clay's hat, where he hid behind the brim.

"Well… I guess we've not no other choice," Raimundo muttered, shrugging.

"Then let's move," Clay said, relighting the Torch and leading the way. They entered the void, the door swinging shut behind them with a final, metallic clang.

* * *

><p><em>"I ain't 'fraid of no ghost!"<em> Emma's voice echoed down the hallways of her prison, or what she thought might be hallways. She had woken up, stiff and cramped and hungry but otherwise feeling better, and had decided to sing to pass the time. _"I ain't 'fraid of no ghost! Don't get caught alone, oh no! When it comes through your door, unless ya just want some more, I think ya better call! _Ghostbusters!_ Who ya gonna call? _Ghostbusters!_ I think ya better call._ Ghostbusters!"

"Will you stop that infernal singing?" a voice snapped. Emma stopped immediately, perking her ears to listen for the source of the voice. She heard footsteps, heavy ones, come down the passage that led into the room she was in. "You are the most annoying prisoner we've ever had."

"Aww, thanks!" she gushed, grinning. "You're too kind, really." The person sighed in exasperation and Emma's grin turned smug. If they thought her singing was annoying, then they were completely unprepared for the Emma experience. "So, uh, hey, while you're down here, oh mysterious person who will undoubtedly be an important plot device later on, wanna untie me and get this blindfold off? There seems to have been a mistake; y'see, there was this big octopus thingy and it grabbed me when I was trying to tell my buds about the Wizard's Guild and how we shoulda got out, though I'm sure they're all out to save me and stuff, since they're not here with me, y'know, and then I woke up here but there was nobody around so I got tired and fell back asleep but I'm feeling much better now so-"

"SHUT UP!" the person roared, and Emma leaned back happily. "You are the most aggravating mortal I have ever had the misfortune to meet," the voice hissed, and Emma swore she could ear an eye twitch somewhere in there.

"Oh, stop it, you're gonna make me blush," she giggled. The person groaned and what sounded like skull hitting stone came next. "But honestly, about the blindfold and ropes…"

"If I remove them," the person said in a carefully measured voice, "will you shut up?"

"I'd have to be sedated to be silent for more than a minute or two," Emma sighed, shrugging.

The person sighed in exasperation. "Just tell me what you are doing in my headquarters."

"That ain't none o' yo biznaz, foo! Mah posse do be comin' to get me out an' I'm gon' backwards-magic yo behind inta next Tuesday!"

"Backwards magic?" the person murmured, definitely interested now.

"Shizzle mah hizzle!"

"… What?"

"It's fancy talk for yes."

"Oh."

"You got a problem with that?" Emma asked. "'Cause I can kick your butt if you do!"

"I'm sure you can," the voice purred, suddenly condescendingly hostile. "My humblest apologies. So if you have backwards magic, does that mean that the people going into my sitting room are the fabled Xiaolin Dragons?"

"Yepper-doodle! They're my bestest best friends and they're on the way to save me from you. Thanks for tying me up by the way, ya jerk. My ear itches like crazy and I can't even see you so I can't insult your appearance."

"Well, here," the person said, and Emma could feel cold fingers brush her neck as the person reached through the bars and undid her blindfold. When they pulled it off, however, her situation was no better. "Is this fine?"

"No," the Irish girl replied. "I need my glasses to see with, duh. Why else would I wear such awesome things on my face, if not for the sake of fashion? 'Cause, y'know, I care so much about fashion."

"In that case, here," the person said, and Emma's glasses were placed back on her nose. She shook her head to right the glasses and to get her bangs out of her eyes, but had to do a double take when she saw her captor. An incredibly handsome boy that looked about 17 or 18 stood in front of her cage, hands clasped behind his back. He was surprisingly pale, and his skin looked even lighter compared to his perfectly mussed jet-black hair. He wore a swallow-tailed coat the color of garnet, with swirls of gold sewn in, and beige pants tucked into riding boots. He looked as though he had stepped out of an elegant Victorian painting, and his regal stance only helped to affirm this. It was his eyes, however, that had Emma the most surprised. Other than the slitted pupils, one thing about them stood out.

They were a cunning, malevolent gold.

"Holy crap! You're a vampire!" Emma yelped, scooting back in fright. "And you're _hot!_"

"That I am," the boy said, bowing. "Allow me to introduce myself. I am-"

"Edward Cullen. No need for introductions," Emma replied, shaking her head. "I've heard all about you, y'see. And Eddie, I've come to a conclusion." She suddenly lunged forward, making the boy step back in surprise as she pressed her face against the bars of her cage. _"You must__** die.**__"_

"I beg your pardon," the vampire said, brushing off the front of his coat. "I am Chance Young, of the Dragwlya clan."

"I knew it!" Emma cried, sitting on her knees and mustering as much indignity as she could. "I knew you were a Mary Sue! I knew it knew it knew it! Er, the male equivalent of a Mary Sue, anyway. What'd that be, a Marty Stu? I dunno. Anyway! Chance Young, pah! Watch, you'll turn out to be some long-lost son or nephew or dog of Chase Young's or something."

"Chase Young? The Heylin sorcerer?" Chance spat. "I suppose he's here, too?"

"Naw, unless he came here earlier to infiltrate your creepy little base or something, which sounds nothing like him. Why? You got a beef with the guy?" she asked, leaning back again.

"You could say that," Chance snarled, baring a set of fanged teeth. "In any case, you and your friends are here for one of Runa's artifacts, hmm?"

"Runa? That was this place is?" Emma asked, glancing around the room. Shelves of spices, herbs and potions lined the walls, and though the room was small, they seemed to contain quite a bit. Old, faded books that looked as though they belonged in a museum were between jars of organs and old potions, and a dead magical creature or two. There was a three-foot by three-foot circle cut out of the stone floor, where seawater sloshed. That explained the salty smell and the sound of the ocean, and how the oversized sushi dish had gotten her in here. There was a doorway with no door opposite her cage, with steep stairs ascending to parts unknown behind it. "Kinda tiny."

"This is simply a retrieval room for prisoner- I mean, guests," Chance said, catching himself. "You should see the foyer."

"I'd love to! Let's go," Emma said, smiling and pushing open the door to her cage. "Next time, maybe you should lock that." She breezed past Chance, whose eyes were wise with surprise.

"What- how-" he spluttered, looking from the cage to Emma and back again. She paused by the door, turning and giving Chance a grin. "Don't be so cocky, Ed. You an' your toadies need to learn a few new knots, or at least get a lock on that thing. I was in Girl Scouts, after all." And with that, she turned and skipped up the stairs, leaving Chance to watch in a mixture of abject terror and confusion.

"H-hey! Wait!" he yelled, running up the stairs after her.

**Heh, heh.  
>Emma: REDEMPTION! *<strong>**fistpump*****  
>You're welcome. Anyway, I hope you guys weren't too P.O.'d at the OOC-ness throughout the chapter. I feel like this is going nowhere fast, though it is (mostly) adhering to my original plot line. Review and I'll humiliate Chance!<br>Chance: I hate humans.  
>Emma: DIE, EDWARD!<br>Chance: AAAAGH! *runs off screaming*  
>Emma: AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! *chases after him w stake***


	6. Chapter 6

Runa CH. 6

**A/N: HEYO! Thanks to everybody who reviewed! So, this chapter gets a wee bit dark. If you don't like blood and/or people getting electrocuted, you may want to skip bits. Otherwise, read on!  
>Disclaimer: I don't steal, you don't steal, deal?<strong>

"Wow," Kimiko whispered. "It's… beautiful." She and the others had gone through the short passage from the testing door, (there had been no one behind it, which made them question the whereabouts of the mysterious voice,) and into a giant room. It looked like the inside of a mansion, with a grand white marble staircase sweeping up to another floor, with several doors dotting the hallway beyond. The floors themselves looked to be made of the same white marble, with a crimson rug leading the way to the staircase. A huge, crystal chandelier lit the room, it's thousands of flickering lights serving to give the room a lovely, ethereal feeling. The walls were elegant wood paneling, with framed maps and an exotic potted plant here and there.

"And quiet," Omi added.

"So Emma ain't here," Clay finished, suppressing a grin. If Emma was around and conscious, they'd know.

"That, or she's dead," Raimundo said, striding forward and not noticing the fierce glare he got from the Texan. "C'mon. We don't have all day. Night. Whatever. Dojo, can you sense the Zenith Mirror? I'm guessing they won't have signs posted."

Dojo took a whiff. "Yeah, it's through there." He pointed to the door at the top of the staircase. Suddenly, the candles all flickered out at once. The Warriors tensed, and Kimiko was about to provide a new fire, when the candles roared back to life. However, this time, their flame was an eerie green that made the shadows malevolent and the figure who had appeared from the darkness that much scarier. Pale skin that had a green tint in the candlelight was framed by almost-curly locks of black darker than night. An air of elegance and danger surrounded the figure, and the Dragons had to fight a sudden urge to hide. This person inspired fear as well as awe, it seemed.

"Welcome!" he (for it could only be a he,) cried, spreading his arms. "I am so pleased to have you, Xiaolin Dragons. You don't know how long I've waited for this."

"And you are who exactly?" Raimundo asked, getting into a fighting stance. The others did the same.

"I am Chance Young, heir to the throne of the Dragwlya clan," he said grandly, flashing them a fanged grin.

"Any relation to-"

"I AM NOT RELATED TO THAT ARROGANT PRETENDER!" Chance roared, cutting off Kimiko's question. The Dragons flinched at the unexpected hostility, and Chance took a deep breath. "What I _mean_ is, Chase Young is a lowly human who was elevated through dark magic and trickery. I am a vampire, a purebred, a shining example of perfection."

"Not to mention modesty," Clay muttered.

"So where are we? I thought vampires hung out in caves?" Raimundo asked, grinning. The others (minus Omi) groaned at the terrible pun, and Chance bristled.

"You are in Runa, a newer base of the Wizard's Guild. And I caution you not to speak so freely of us. Vampires once ruled this miserable world in an eternal night, side-by-side with those you call Heylin. However, humans quickly proved to be more… intelligent than we had first thought. The Heylin and vampires, as well as all other creatures of the dark, were turned against each other by the deceitful humans that called themselves the Xiaolin. They knew that they were not strong enough to face us on their own, after all. But although their plan succeeded and we had to flee, the forces of the night stayed strong. We have been waiting for this opportunity, Xiaolin Dragons, for a long, long time."

"What opportunity?" Omi asked, glancing around. A malevolent grin crossed the young man's face, and he leaned forward. He looked as if he was about to fall right over the railing, and the shadows flickering over his face due to the candlelight made him look demented.

"The opportunity to steal your powers." Then a giant cage came down on the Warriors with a clang. Each one tried to break free, and each one failed. However, Dojo slid off of Clay's hat and slithered through the bars and off into one of the corridors. Chance laughed and lurched over the edge of the banister, landing with an inhuman grace. "Go ahead, try and break it," he chuckled, standing and brushing himself off. "This has been specially reinforced. No amount of elemental power could free you."

"Oh, yeah? Well, maybe our powers won't work, but our kung fu will!" Raimundo said. He ran at the bars, jumping to kick them- but was thrown back by a burst of electricity.

"Oh, and did I mention it's electrified?" the vampire asked, smile growing.

"You may have us, but Emma is still free!" Omi crowed triumphantly, crossing his arms. Then he looked around and noticed Dojo's absence. "We also have a dragon on our side! They will come to save us!"

Chance laughed again. "The chatterbox who can't even wield her own magic and a flying salamander? Please. The dragon I can deal with. The girl I already have." He watched in satisfaction as their eyes went wide. "I didn't expect her to be able to escape my clutches so easily, but she did. In any case, the chase was short and the victory was…" he gave a sinister chuckle. "Delicious."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Clay bellowed. The others had to hold him back for fear of touching the bars.

"I slit her throat and drained her corpse. Magic blood tastes the best, really, like liquid gold. Though I admit, hers was tainted somewhat by her stupidity, but aftertastes are easy to ignore. Oh, and when I slit her throat, she tried to say something, but all she could do was choke on her own blood. She died scared, alone and painfully- and now, so will you." Clay roared and broke free of the others. He hit the bars hard, but stretched out an arm and grabbed Chance by the front of his coat. When Clay pulled back, Chance was pulled forward and hit the bars even harder. He screamed as the electricity coursed through him before Clay let go. Both of them stood back, bent over, panting and glaring at the other.

"You have… a high level of pain tolerance, Dragon of Earth," Chance hissed, clutching the side of his face. "Was that an effort to escape?"

"Nope," Clay replied, breathing heavily. "Just a preview. The second Ah get outta this Ah'm gonna make you wish you'd never touched her." Chance's expression was clouded with confusion, and then it cleared. He leaned back and laughed, throwing off the Warriors a bit. When he had finally calmed down, still holding his face, he glanced at Clay and grinned.

"I can't believe it. I truly _can not_ believe this. You actually _care_ for her, don't you?" Clay's expression darkened, but he said nothing. Chance laughed again. "Oh, this is too good! This is absolutely hysterical. This is- oh, how could anyone care for that thing? She's nothing! She's less than nothing!"

"She's more than you'll ever be," Clay snarled, though he didn't make another move for the bars. Chance ignored him and continued to laugh, and when he was finished, he just shook his head.

"Oh, that's the best laugh I've had in years. To the extraction chambers with them. I've got a world to conquer!" And with that, he pivoted and began up the stairs.

"Yes, sir," the cheerful voice from the questioning room replied, now more subdued. The Dragons looked around to see who was speaking, but once more, the voice seemed to emanate from shadows. Then, with a clang, the floor opened up beneath them and the cage, contents and all, went plummeting into the blackness.

"Some things in life are bad. They can really make you mad. Other things just make you swear and curse. When you're chewing on life's gristle, don't grumble, give a whistle! And this'll help things turn out for the best… _And, always look on the bright side of life! Always look on the light side of life! If life seems jolly rotten, there's something you've forgotten, and that's to laugh and smile and dance and sing! When you're feeling in the dumps, don't be silly chumps, just purse your lips and whistle! That's the thing,"_ Emma sang as she skipped along. She was in one of the many corridors of Runa, not minding the fact that she was completely lost, alone and probably about to be killed. Why, you may ask? Because she was an optimist! She could look on the bright side of any situation, no matter how high the stakes might be or how dire it might seem!

… Also, she'd found a candy bar in her pocket. It had been there since they had left that morning, but in the course of events, it had been forgotten. And the wrapper had protected it from getting waterlogged and hexed, so she deemed it edible. She munched happily on the rectangle of chocolaty goodness as she skipped, humming when her mouth was full. She swallowed another bite and continued to sing. _"For life is quite absurd, and death's the final word, you must always face the curtain with a bow. Forget about your sin- give the audience a grin! Enjoy it; it's your last chance anyhow. So always look on the bright side of __**death!**__ Even as you take your terminal breath! Life's a piece of-"_

"Emma!" The Irish witch (fun to say, amirite?) turned around and glanced about the hallway, but she saw no one. "Down here." She looked down, and smiled the second she saw who had called her.

"Dojo! Hey, I've been looking for you! Where'd you guys get to?" She knelt down as he slithered around a corner, up her arm and onto her shoulder. "I've had quite a time myself! I got captured by a squid, and then blindfolded and put in an oversized birdcage, and then I escaped, because he didn't think I could undo the knot my hands were in so he didn't lock it- 'he' said his name is Chance Young, by the way, but I know he's really Edward, so no worries, we'll kill him eventually- and then I got out and he chased me but I got away and he left and then I found this candy bar and then I found you! So how's your day been?" The little dragon blinked, trying to process the giant block of text that had just been shoved unceremoniously in his face. Eventually, he just gave up and shook his head to clear it.

"Less than good. Chance captured the others, and from what I heard of it, he's got some plan to take away their elemental powers!" Emma froze, and Dojo was glad to see her registering the urgency in his words. "I thought you were- well, we thought you were… uh… indisposed. Anyway, I'm glad to see you're okay."

"The feeling is mutual," Emma agreed, nodding. "We gotta help out the others!" Then she glared at the ceiling. "Which, by the way, THANKS A LOT. Now I get to pull a Mary Sue, because I can either save them, die trying, or both. EVERY OPTION IS A SUETHOR'S PARADISE." Dojo looked up at the ceiling too, but saw nothing.

"Uh…"

"Never you mind. C'mon, let's go! Where'd he take 'em?" she asked, shoving the remainder of the candy bar into her mouth. She dashed off, Dojo holding on for dear life.

"Somewhere underground, I think."

"Mm, Hersheys. But I thought we were already underground?"

"Deeper underground, then. I bet he took them to wherever he's keeping the Zenith Mirror."

"Then in that case, to the Zenith Mirror! Lead the way, faithful dragon sidekick!"

"Sidekick?"

**Lol. PLEASE REVIEW! I really really REALLY need more reviews for this thing! My goal is 30 by the time I'm finished, which is a VERY LAME GOAL!  
>Emma: Begging? Really?<br>You want more screen time or not?  
>Emma: Oh, right. Yeah, review! DO IT! DO IT NOW!<strong>


	7. Chapter 7

Runa CH. 7

_Ask me why, I don't know  
><em>_You ask me why and I say  
><em>_Now you see me now you don't  
><em>_I thought by now you'd learned  
><em>_You're gonna get your fingers burned!  
><em>_- The Alan Parsons Project_

"So, let me get this straight. I get all the parts about him hating humans and once ruling and junk, but there's something else. Edward Cullen told Clay he had killed me and sucked out all my blood (like the CREEPER HE IS,) an' then Clay flipped out and made him get zapped?"

"Yeah, pretty much."

"YES! I knew it! I KNEW he loved me!"

"Emma… you know about the rules, right?" Dojo asked. He was curled up in the hood of Emma's jacket, talking with her as she searched Runa for the others and the Zenith Mirror. "The rules about Dragons and ex-Dragons and non-Dragons."

Emma was silent for a moment. "… Nope. No, no rules. I don't know about any such rules. What are these rules of which you speak? I don't play by no rules!"

"The rules where-" Dojo stopped, realizing Emma's tone. It was that 'I-don't-like-what-I'm-hearing-and-will-refuse-to-listen-to-you-because-ignorance-is-bliss' voice she used whenever someone had to tell her that something had gone horribly, terribly wrong. This usually meant drawing straws to let her know that they were out of chocolate in one form or another. It may not have been 10,000 years of darkness, but in the Irish girl's eyes, it was just as bad. So she did know. And she simply chose to ignore them. Dojo supposed that she could, but not forever. "Emma, you need to be honest with yourself."

Emma winced. She knew Dojo didn't mean to be harsh; his tone had been kind, and he was her friend. He was just trying to help. _'Still,'_ she thought irritably, '_he coulda been less painfully honest.'_ "Yeah. Yeah, I know. Wish he did, though. I love him to pieces."

"Which is where the rules apply."

Emma felt a cavernous silence approaching and changed the subject to ward it off. "So, Zenith and Nadir Mirrors. You mentioned something about less desirable properties if the Mirrors came together. So talk."

Dojo sighed in relief at the welcome change of topic and began. "Well, the Zenith and Nadir Mirrors were originally created so that two lovers on opposite sides of the world could communicate. Then the Heylin stole them and found that they could function as something other than makeshift phones."

"I don't like where this is going," Emma said, shivering.

"With good reason. When combined, the Zenith Mirror and Nadir Mirror can create a black hole." Emma gasped. "And that's not even the worst part. Whoever controls the Mirrors controls the black hole. It's size, where it goes, what it takes in and what it doesn't… every aspect."

"So, in theory, if Edward had both Mirrors, he could get rid of all the humans ever?"

"Yes."

"Oh mah." Emma picked up the pace as her mind whirred, going at top speed to piece together the information she had. "Good on ya for stickin' around, though. I'm glad we at least know this. But that's why he joined the Wizard's Guild, isn't it? To get access to the Zenith Mirror, so he could find the Nadir Mirror, and make a black hole and take away all humans. Maybe even the sun. Then the whole solar system would be one big never-ending night for him and his Drag-whatever clan. He wouldn't have to worry about anybody resisting on the Heylin side, either, because he could just black hole them away too. It'd make him all-powerful, and then they would just keep making those stupid movies!"

"So I bet his superiors have no idea what he's doing," Dojo added grimly.

"That sounds just like him! I bet Bella dumped him for Jacob. At this rate, I'mma have to pull together a vampire-fighting task force! First thing we get home, remind to give Buffy a shout, 'kay? I need all the help I can ge- OMG A KITCHEN!" Emma dashed into the spacious kitchen, everything else forgotten. "I bet they have more chocolate in here!" It was large and surprisingly bright compared to the rest of the underground lair, and looked like something off of the cooking channel. Sandy marble countertops, light wood floors, and stainless-steel appliances that were surprisingly modern decorated the room. However, Emma didn't notice the stark contrast to the rest of the base in her haste to find chocolate.

"Emma, we need to stay focused! And did you learn nothing from the Gluttony room?" he added in a deadpan. But Emma wasn't listening as she was too busy searching for the chocolate chips.

"Gotta be around here somewhere…" Suddenly, a sound from outside the door caught her attention. "Hide!" Dojo hissed, and Emma was quick to comply, ducking behind a counter. Someone entered the room, humming. Emma peered over to see who it was, but was distracted when she noticed a cookie jar about a foot away on the counter. Carefully, she reached over, ever so slowly, to get a cookie, tongue stuck out of her mouth in concentration.

"What are you doing?" Dojo cried as quietly as he could.

"I'm hungry!" Emma whispered back. "I'll get you one too, no worries." Dojo facepalmed as Emma's hand got nearer to the jar. Five inches, four, three…

"Oh, ho! And what have we here?" Emma jumped so high her head just about hit the ceiling. She looked at the door, but didn't see anyone. "Behind you, miss!" Emma whirled around to see what she thought was a woman standing behind her. However, what she saw was far different than what she had expected.

Yes, the voice had certainly come from this creature, and yes, the creature did resemble a woman in figure and voice, but that was where the resemblances ended. She was covered in short, tawny fur and had green eyes that looked just like a cats'. The cat-woman wore a tattered maid's outfit, and her hair, a shade darker than her fur, stuck up in two tufts on either side of her head. Her ears seemed to have been replaced with a cat's as well, but remained where human ears would be. A tail swished lazily behind her, adding to the cat-woman look. "Wh-who are you?" Emma managed to squeak.

"I am known as Sphinx, caretaker of Runa and keeper of her secrets. I make sure only those who are worthy enter by testing them. I do not, however, remember testing you, so I would like to know who you are as well!" She seemed eerily cheerful for just having caught an escapee.

Emma blinked, then stood straight and cleared her throat. "I am known as Emma O'Reiley, caretaker of the Xbox and keeper of candy. I specialize in the visual arts, though I like the musical arts as well, and my favorite color is yellow." Then she felt Dojo peering around her head and remembered he was there. "Oh, yes! And this is Dojo, a shapeshifting dragon who helps me and my friends out. He's not very good at video games and I'm not sure what his favorite color is."

"Well, it's very nice to meet you, Miss Emma," Sphinx said, curtsying. "And you as well, Mister Dojo. Would you like to stay and chat for a while? It's been so long since I've had real company." Emma's face split into a crooked grin. "You betcha!"

"Uh, Emma? Dragons captured, Zenith Mirror, gotta go?" Dojo muttered, tugging on her hair. Emma's face fell.

"Oh, right. Actually, ma'am, my friends kinda got kidnapped by your boss. I gotta go save 'em." Emma was half-expecting Sphinx to attack when she found out that Emma was with the Warriors, but instead, she just scoffed and looked away.

"I assure you, Chance is not my 'boss.' My people have long been worshipped as gods by the Egyptians, though we sometimes needed to engage in combat, as we were truly only mortals. Years ago, Chance's father saved mine. Our custom is that if a man's life is saved in battle, his first-born daughter (or son, if he was saved by a woman,) will go to the one who saved him. Chance's father did not want to wed me, but was kind and let me go back to my people. Chance was not nearly so. He returned to take me as a servant after his father led their clan into hiding."

"Huh. Sounds like a nice guy," Emma muttered. "So… you're not gonna kill me or anything for bein' back here?"

"Of course not," Sphinx replied, smiling. "If you can defeat Chance, I'll help you in any way possible." Emma and Dojo traded a glance, and then both of them faced Sphinx.

"Well, ma'am, there is something you could do…"

* * *

><p>"Okay. I officially hate this guy," Raimundo muttered. The Xiaolin Dragons, masters and mistress of the four elements and many-time saviors of the world, were sitting in an electrified cage in a darkened room, their only light source a harsh spotlight right above them. Not only could they hear things moving around in the dark, inhuman things, but they couldn't see those things. It was unnerving, and they knew that whatever was about to happen, they'd need nerve to face it. Too bad it was dwindling.<p>

"If it was unofficial before, I hate him too," Kimiko agreed.

Omi nodded. "How are we to escape? Dojo may not be able to defeat Chance on his own, and Emma…" he glanced at Clay, who remained silent. "Well… we need to find some way to escape."

"And that's where I come in!" The Dragons all looked into the darkness for the source of the voice; it was the same one as the voice that had asked them questions. A half-cat, half-woman creature stepped out of the shadows, curtsying gracefully.

"Who are you?" Raimundo asked, raising an eyebrow. "If this is some trick to mess with our minds-"

"I assure you, it isn't," the woman replied, glancing around. "Listen closely. I cannot stay long, in case Chance finds out I'm here. A friend of yours asked me to relay a message to you."

"Go on," Raimundo said, some of the suspicion leaving his voice.

She cleared her throat. "Ahem. Careful At Nobody, Now Or Never."

"… That's it?" Kimiko asked, confused. "Careful at nobody, now or never? That doesn't even make any sense!"

The cat-woman smiled. "I thought you'd say that. Just remember, you might be _looking_ at the problem the _wrong way_. Adieu!" And with that, she vanished back into the shadows.

"Wait! That's not enough! Who- who sent… aw, man!" Raimundo's protests fell on silence, and the Dragons began to think. "That doesn't sound like something we can use."

"No, it does not. But perhaps she was trying to tell us something else?" Omi pointed out.

"She put emphasis on looking and the wrong way. Do you suppose that was part of the message, too?" Kimiko offered.

"Nah, if it was, she'd have just said so. I think maybe it's a code, you know, just in case Chance is listening in or something." Raimundo began to pace. "Careful at nobody, now or never. Careful at nobody. Now or never. Careful. At. No. Body. Now. Or. Never."

"The first part doesn't even make sense, grammatically speaking," Kimiko added. "What are we doing wrong?"

"Ah got it." Everyone turned to Clay. "She said she might be lookin' at th' problem th' wrong way. Emphasis on lookin' an' wrong way, like Kimiko said. It's 'cause we ain't lookin' at it, we're sayin' it."

"Yes! That makes perfect sense!" Raimundo exclaimed, nodding. "But let's pretend like I have no idea what you're talking about for a second so you can show us what you mean." Kimiko facepalmed and Omi remained confused.

"Here." Clay leaned down and wrote the message in normal left-to-right in the dust beneath them. "This is one way to look at it. But there're others." He wrote it up-and-down and stepped back. "This is what she meant."

"Yeah… I'm not seeing it," Kimiko said, looking over the message.

"Careful At Nobody, Now Or Never. Y'all know what an acrostic is?" Clay asked. Raimundo and Omi shook their heads, but Kimiko's eyes lit up in understanding. "Oh! Oh… oh. _Oh._"

"Jus' the first letters," the Texan explained. Raimundo and Omi read over it, Omi saying the letters out loud. "C-A-N-N-O-N."

Clay grinned. "Somethin' tells me Chance is as honest as he is modest."

"Yes! We now have front down!" Omi said, beaming.

"Ya mean backup."

"… Can we not have both?"

* * *

><p>"This is <strong>glorious.<strong>"

"I have to admit, it's pretty impressive." Emma stood in front of an old cannon, Dojo sitting on her shoulders. The cannon itself was as long as Emma was tall, and mounted on wood-and-iron wheels. Though it was intended for purely ornamental purposes, Sphinx had assured them that it would operate just fine. "Question is, will it work?"

"What, my plan or the cannon?" Emma asked, glancing at the dragon.

"Both. Either. No offense, but your plans can be a little, uh…"

"Far-fetched?" Emma offered, beaming. "Yep! But we're in a fanfiction, so anything is possible! Except me being not awesome, obviously. 'Cause, y'know. I so am."

"Riiiiight," Dojo monotoned, rolling his eyes. "Anyway, we'd better get this to the, ah… what'd Sphinx call it?"

"The extraction chamber. Sounds ominous, huh?" Emma asked, going behind the cannon and rolling up the sleeves of her jacket.

"No kidding. Let's go!" Emma grinned and pushed- and nothing happened. "Urgh!" She pushed with her arms, then her back, then her legs, but nothing worked. "Why! Isn't! This! Stupid! Cannon! Moving!" she grunted, putting all her weight into moving the weapon.

"Maybe because you didn't move the breaks," Dojo said, pointing at the triangles of wood shoved under the wheels. Emma blinked, then grinned sheepishly. "Oh, right. Eheh. I knew that." She dashed forward, removed the wedges, and then back behind the cannon. This time, she actually moved it, picking up speed as they rolled down the corridor. "Alright!" Emma huffed, getting the hang of maneuvering it. "Let's go shoot us a vampire!"

* * *

><p>"Hello, Xiaolin Dragons!" The four kids looked up at Chance, who had emerged in another spotlight. "And how are we today?"<p>

"Other than being nearly drowned, kidnapped by a psychotic vampire and possibly killed, pretty good, thanks." Chance ignored Kimiko reply and flipped a switch, making all the light in the room come on. Once their eyes adjusted, the Dragons could see that they were in what looked like a car garage, with machinery spilling from the ceiling and filling the air with hums and whirrs and clanks. The vampire stood on a mesh platform that jutted out from a door in the wall, with stairs leading down to the floor. Also on the platform was what appeared to be a control panel, covered in flashing lights, levers and buttons. On top of their cage was what looked like a large siphon, attached to several tubes that led to a big, empty tank. Wires sprouted from the tank and attached to what looked like half of a hand mirror. It was black, with a glassy quality like obsidian, but it almost looked like something inside the blackness was moving. The part someone looked into was opaque, however; too fogged up to see through. Chance's smile grew when he saw them staring at the tank.

"You like it? It's my own invention. Not that I invented it or anything, but theft counts." He walked over to the control panel and pressed a button, making the siphon begin to generate a whirring sound. "This is the extraction chamber. It's powered by the Zenith Mirror, an extraordinary little thing called a Shen Gong Wu that's going to help me take over the world. But first, I'm going to use it to take your powers out of you and put them into anything I want. For right now, I think I'll keep them stored away until I become ruler of Earth. Then I'll use them for myself." The looks of horror on the faces of his prisoners only increased his happiness. "Oh, but don't worry. It only hurts a little. Then it kills you!" As he laughed evilly (as villains are so prone to do in these situations) the Dragons traded glances. If their rescue was coming it was now or never…

Suddenly, they heard a rumbling sound that wasn't coming from any of the machines. Chance stopped laughing and frowned, glancing at the far wall. "What-"

"FA'R INNA HOLE!" The Dragons ducked just in time to dodge the cannonball crashing through the wall. Chance was not so lucky. The cannonball itself missed him, but a large hunk of what was once the wall hit him square in the stomach and sending him flying. As the dust settled, the Dragons could see a large shape in the middle of the hole in the wall. Then Emma rolled the cannon through, Dojo perched on top and ready to light the fuse again. "_I ain't 'fraid of no ghost!_ Or vampire, as the case may be."

"Dojo! Emma!" their friends yelled. Emma's face lit up and she said something to Dojo, who nodded and went behind the cannon. Emma, however, ran into the room, beaming. "Hey, guys! So you got my message?"

"Yeah, thanks for the whole rescue thing," Raimundo said, not bothering to hold back his grin. "Cutting it a little close, though."

"In my defense, that cannon is really heavy," she replied, reaching for the cage bars. As a unit, the Dragons cried "NO!" Emma froze, fingers inches away. "What? What is it?"

"The bars are electrified. You'll get zapped," Clay explained, having found his voice again. Emma nodded.

"Okay. There's probably a lever or something to open up the bars. Any ideas where it might be?" she asked. The Dragons looked around until Kimiko spotted the control board. "There! I bet the release switch is somewhere on that panel," she said, pointing to it.

Emma nodded again. "Right. I'll have you guys out in a jiffy!" She darted over to the stairs and clambered up, then skidded to a halt at the control panel. "Woah. Thaaat's a lotta buttons." Amongst the few display panels on the control board, there were indeed lots of buttons. Most of them were small and only had symbols or abbreviations next to them, all in rows of jumbled color and size.

"Emma! Just look for a knob like the bass tuner on Rai's boom box! It should be pretty big compared to everything else!" Kimiko called.

"Um, okay, but I don't- ah-ha!" Emma spotted a knob that was at the bottom of a track, farther away from the center. She pushed it up, and as the knob rose, so did the bars of the cage. The Dragons ducked out and Emma ran back down to meet them. "You guys okay?"

"Getting better. Let's go before Chance wakes up!" Raimundo said.  
>"Too late." The five looked back at the source of the growl, where Chance had risen with an expression of fury marring his features. An aura of palpable rage surrounded him, and his hands were clenched so tight it made his already pale skin go stark white at the knuckles.<p>

"Oh crap oh crap oh crap!" Emma squeaked, ducking behind Clay and peering over his shoulder. "Cullen's back up!"

"On it!" Dojo had slithered back to the fuse of the cannon, and another ball had been loaded into it. Chance's eyes widened when he saw what was the dragon was aiming at.

"NO! You can't-" but Chance was cut off by the lighting of the fuse and a cannonball crashing into the tank. Sparks flew everywhere and everyone ducked as he wires detached themselves from the Zenith Mirror. The Mirror was mounted on a wire stand, but a stray piece of debris sent the stand and the Mirror flying. It landed on the top of what was probably a generator and skittered to a halt. The Warriors glanced at Chance, then at each other, and suddenly, everyone's goal was to get to the Zenith Mirror. After a mad dash to cut him off, the Warriors were successfully blocking Chance's way to the Mirror.

"If you want to get to the Zenith Mirror, you must get through us first!" Omi declared, striking a pretty cool kung-fu pose. Chance snarled and his eyes flitted over the group. On the outside, he was seething with fury, and on the inside it was pretty much the same. But he was also furiously trying to figure out how to not fight the keepers of the elements and still get the Mirror. He needed a weak link. And when he glanced over the witch girl, he knew he had found it.

"Who says I need to?" A blur of movement and suddenly, there was a very pointy piece of shrapnel at Emma's throat. "Oh, _come on!"_ Emma barked, raising her hands in frustration. "Does it ALWAYS have to be me?"

"Well, you're not as skilled as us, and he's probably still mad at you for wrecking his place and hitting him with his own wall," Raimundo pointed out, earning glares from everyone but Chance. "What? _What?_ It's true and you all know it."

"The Dragon of Wind is right. So, what will it be, children? Let me have the Zenith Mirror and I let you and your friend live. Continue to go against me and I kill her, then you. Make it easy on all of us and do the right thing." The Dragons traded uncertain glances.

"Don't worry, guys. I got this," Emma said, not moving for fear of the metal digging into her throat. Chance looked at her dryly and raised an eyebrow. "Oh, really? And what, may I ask, is your brilliant plan?"

"Well, it's actually pretty boss, Sparkles," she replied, her voice disturbingly cheerful. "You know what backwards magic is?"

"Yes," Chance replied, raising an eyebrow. "Where are you going with thi-"

"Then you know that backwards magic doesn't normally require chanting, but some Verse spells need it. A growth spell, for example. We're underground, so I figure we must be surrounded by roots and stuff, right? Right," she added, cutting off Chance's reply. "I also figure that if I use the right hex, you'd be done for and we'd be done with you! It's a lose-win on your angle, fella."

"Are you actually summoning the gall to _threaten_ me?"

"Naw. I don't threaten, Eddie. I promise." Then her smile turned dark and her eyes flashed. "Tremor temper tantrum turn. Bubble brewing bashing burn."

"What are you-" Chance's question was interrupted by a small root twining around his ankle. He kicked it off, then turned back to Emma, grinning. "Really? That's your big plan? That was almost as pathetic as you!"

Emma glanced over Chance's shoulder and beamed. Chance looked over his shoulder, then did a double take. Emma's smile grew as Chance took in the writhing mass of roots behind him, snaking through cracks in the walls and reaching towards him. The vampire pulled the sharp metal away from Emma's throat and began to hack frantically at the weeds that surrounded him.

"Get the Mirror, I'll keep Edward busy!" Emma yelled. "Got ya covered!" Raimundo called back, heading up the slope for the mirror. Clay, Omi and Kimiko continued to wreak havoc with Chance's defenses to let Raimundo through.

" Jumper jammer jaguar jinx, mayhem mosey monster minx! Racer, runner, rennet, rash! Bludgeon, bitter, better, bash! Leaping, leopard, lighter, lake! Dungeon, dragon, double, drake! Whither, weather, wearer, witch! Slither, scissor, swagger, switch!" The walls gave way as more and more roots broke through, tangling around Chance's arms and legs. He roared and cut a swathe away, managing to get closer to the platform holding the Zenith Mirror. Emma grit her teeth and ran forward, directing the roots as she went. "Spatter, sputter, splitter, slice! Danger, dancing, demon, dice! Careful, corner, caustic, clash! Feisty, fearsome, fatal, flash!"

"NO!" Chance cried as the weeds continued to pour in. Then he turned around and faced Emma, who skidded to a halt. He snarled and threw the shrapnel at her. She ducked just in time, though it took some hair off. Emma straightened up, looking back at where the sword was now stuck in the wall.

"Dude! You coulda killed-" her complaint was cut off when she turned back around and saw Chance had already made it to the Mirror. "-me..."

Chance laughed. "Nice try, Xiaolin Dragons, but even you can not stop destiny!" Then the Zenith Mirror began to glow under his hand. Chance looked down at it, confusion all over his face. "What?"

Raimundo's hand was on the other side of the Mirror. The Brazilian grinned triumphantly as Chance's confusion increased. "Chance Young, I challenge you to a Xiaolin Showdown!"

**A/N: AAAAAWWWW YYEEEAAAAHH! }:D Stuff's about to go DOWN! The chapter will have the final, (hopefully) epic conclusion to Runa! After a long hiatus, it's almost over. About time, if you ask me. Stay tuned for the final battle and the epilogue! If you have any ideas for some Chance-torture, I'd love to hear 'em. Also, if you liked the hints of Clay/Emma in this (though if you want, you can think of it as Clay sticking up for a friend in need) please check out Sandglass and Drover. They are my neglected fanfiction babies. *forever alone face***


	8. Chapter 8

Runa CH. 8

**A/N: Woah! 30 reviews! *tears up* Y-you guys are the best! It just amazes me that so many people like this story! *sobs*  
>Emma: You'll have to forgive her. She can't always contain her weirdness.<br>Anyway, review response time!**

**Xiaolin Fan: Thanks you muchly! :)**

**ColossalRay: The wait is over! Hope you enjoy!**

**Coralline Slayer: You mad genius! *hops around* I had fun with your idea, if you couldn't tell. XD Thanks for the review!**

**PurpleSatinRose: HECKS YEAH! It's on like a light switch!**

**flowerpower71: A sequel, eh? My pal and I are doing a collab on it, so you might just get one! :D And I think I can do Clay/Emma fluff.**

**TheXGrayXLady: Your life sounds incredibly hectic and I do not begrudge you anything. :) Now that the Losses mini-arc is finished, I'm going to be doing something with the rules. Should be interesting. I agree with you on Dojo; I find that my characterization can be off quite a bit, so I'm glad to hear that I've got him right. Yes, everything is now canon and I'm glad Chance is coming off as the jerk I intended him to be. :D And thanks for the note on the caps. I reread the last chapter and have to agree, though I don't know who Karkat is.**

"Chance Young, I challenge you to a Xiaolin Showdown!" The Zenith Mirror glowed beneath the contrasting hands of Chance Young and Raimundo Pedrosa. Chance's pale, slender hand rested on the opaque surface of the mirror. Raimundo's tan, calloused hand gripped the shattered edge. Both boys stood on either side of the Mirror, glaring daggers at each other. Weeds that had been reaching for Chance a mere moment ago had frozen, and were now slowly retracting thanks to whispered words from their resident witch.

"I accept. What is the challenge?"

"Bounce-house sparring. Whoever gets knocked off their pedestal first loses!" Chance nodded.

"Very good. Let us begin." The Mirror's glow intensified as the Showdown took over. The room warped and flashed, and the room they were in melted away as a new one took its place. Kimiko, Omi, Emma and Clay were sitting on bleachers, the Dragons in their Wudai robes and Emma in her normal ones. Chance and Raimundo were each standing on a colorful, circular pedestal above what looked like a bottomless pit. Each had a pole with foam pads at the end, and each wore a hockey helmet. The Zenith Mirror floated above them, just out of reach.

"_Gong yi tampai!_" Raimundo struck first, jabbing at Chance's legs. Chance reacted quickly, though, and jumped. Raimundo wobbled for a moment, trying to regain his balance. Chance took the opportunity to hit him in the chest. Raimundo would have fallen if he hadn't sent a blast of wind to push himself back up again. He blocked another attack from Chance, nearly losing his helmet in the process. Chance kept him dangerously close to the edge, but couldn't push him over.

"Yeah! Get him, Rai!" Kimiko cheered.

"Show that sparkly freak who's boss!" Emma yelled, flailing her arms.

"Ya got this!" Clay added.

"You must insert your face into the sport!" Omi called, and Raimundo hoped that he meant 'get your head in the game' and not the literal translation. He liked his face the way it was.

"Shut up!" Chance yelled, glaring daggers at the kids in the stands. They were silenced, but Chance's distraction gave Raimundo the opportunity to jab the vampire in the stomach with his pole. Chance skidded close to the edge, but swung around and used his momentum to attack Rai. Gritting his teeth, Raimundo kept Chance at bay, pushing back with all his might. Chance glanced back and noticed with horror that Raimundo was managing to push him closer and closer to the edge, gaining an inch with each passing second. He turned back to Raimundo, who was almost to the front edge of his platform. "Forget this," he snarled, pulling his pole out of Raimundo's way and letting the momentum carry the Brazilian forward. Giving a yelp of surprise, Raimundo caught hold of Chance's pedestal. His feet were just barely on his own platform, and he was hanging onto Chance's with only his hands. Chance leered over him, raising a boot above Raimundo's fingers.

But Raimundo wasn't down yet. With a burst of energy and wind, Raimundo pushed himself off of his platform and used that momentum to kick Chance squarely in the chest. With one foot in the air, Chance had been less sturdy; now he toppled backwards into the chasm, screaming. Raimundo landed on his back with a grunt, but he grinned nonetheless. The Warriors and Dojo cheered in the stands, and he stood to retrieve the Mirror. As he reached for it, it floated down to meet his hand, but then-

- Chance flew up from the pit, snatching the Mirror when it was inches from Raimundo's hand. Everyone was shocked to see a pair of leathery bat wings protruding from Chance's back, his eyes narrowed in malice. "Never underestimate Chance Young," he snarled acidly.

"NO!" the Brazilian yelled, leaping forward. Chance simply flapped and moved back, letting Raimundo plummet into the darkness. He laughed as the Showdown flashed and warped, setting everyone back in their previous clothes and scenery. The Warriors gathered around Raimundo, who was facedown on the floor. He pulled himself up, glaring at Chance. The older boy retracted his wings and landed, smirking.

"Foolish children. Now I have the key to the power to eradicate all you puny, worthless humans!" The Dragons struck karate poses and Emma grabbed Dojo to make a run for it, but then something happened that no one had expected. The already dim light from the few unbroken fluorescent lights flickered out, and the kids (and Dojo) screamed in surprise. When they came back on, someone stood in front of Chance, with their back to the Warriors.

"Chance Gerhardt Young. I am _incredibly_ disappointed in you." Chance went even paler, his eyes going wide. "Did I not tell you that abusing your power is the worst thing is a leader can do?"

"B-but- but I-"

"No buts, young man. You are in big trouble." The person turned around, and the six Xiaolin were shocked. The person was very tall, and wore a black pinstriped suit and a blood-red tie. Dress shoes and white gloves were present, so that the only skin exposed was the man's face and neck. He had two marks on his neck, just like Chance, and his skin was pale like Chance's. His hair was the same jet black, though it was neatly combed and he had gray starting to penetrate the sides, and he had a push-broom mustache. He also had the boy's eyes and pointed ears, and when he spoke, they saw fangs that were bigger and sharper than Chance's. "I am truly sorry for all the trouble my son has caused you. I let him join the Wizard's Guild in the understanding that it would help him learn to use his power wisely, not that he would become an egomaniacal maniac."

"But Father-" Chance's father turned on the boy, giving him a look that made the Warrior's blood run cold. "We will discuss your punishment when we return to the clan. The elders will have things to say about this, I assure you." Chance shut his mouth and bowed his head. "Give me the Zenith Mirror."

"I-"

"_Now."_ With a gulp, Chance handed it over. His father turned back to the kids, smiling apologetically. "I owe you six an apology, as does my son. This is rightfully yours." He gave the Mirror to Raimundo, who accepted it with a nervous smile. "The Dragwlya clan does not steal, and we do not cheat. Had Chance won this fairly, without having to capture or harm you children, I would not have intervened. However, he has not acted with honor. And the first part of his punishment," he added, glancing at Chance over his shoulder, "is that he will clean up this mess all by himself."

"Yes, Father," Chance muttered, keeping his head down. The man nodded curtly and smiled at the Warriors. "If there is anything I can do for you, any favor you need, please let me know. After all my son has put you through, it would be the least I can do."

The kids traded glances, and then Raimundo spoke. "One moment, sir. We need to discuss what we're gonna do next." Chance's father nodded, then grabbed Chance's ear and yanked him to the side to speak to him privately. The Warriors huddled, Dojo perched on Clay's hat.

"So, uh, yeah, I like this guy," Emma whispered, grinning.

"Definitely. What should we ask him to help us with?" Kimiko asked.

"Gettin' outta here sounds good right about now," Clay said. "Ah'm so hungry Ah could eat a cow. Or at least a burger."

"I agree with Clay. We should ask for his assistance in getting back home, and thank him for giving us the Mirror as well," Omi added.

"So we're agreed. We're polite, we keep the Mirror, get outta here and go for burgers." The others nodded, then Emma's eyes widened.

"Oh, wait!" She muttered something to Raimundo, who nodded. "Yeah, sure, but you have to tell him." Emma nodded back and they all broke apart, turning to Chance's father, who had just finished berating Chance. "Mr. Young, we're very grateful for your assistance and would be even more so if you could help us get home."

Chance's father nodded. "Of course. Something so simple shall be done in a moment."

"And, ah, before we go," Emma added, darting over to Chance's father. She motioned for him to lean down, which he did. She whispered in his ear for a moment, and the Dragons watched as he raised an eyebrow. Then he straightened and nodded again. "Yes, that seems more than fair. Thank you for telling me." Emma gave him a thumbs-up and then darted back over to where the others stood.

"What'd ya tell him?" Clay asked. Emma opened her mouth to reply when Chance's father strode over as well, looking over the kids. "Is everyone ready to go?" he asked, glancing over the Xiaolin Dragons, normal dragon and witch-in-training. They had been drenched, attacked, tested, electrocuted and almost killed. Quite frankly, they were ready to go home. They nodded and he had them stand in a circle. Backing up, he held out his hands, palms facing towards the kids. He said something in a language that none of them understood, (except maybe Dojo,) and a blinding light surrounded them. Suddenly, they felt as though they were standing up in a rollercoaster, being shaken and jerked around, and the next moment, they were in the middle of the Temple courtyard. Disoriented, it took them a moment to realize where they were, but when they did, they all began to cheer.

"We did it!" Omi cried, beaming. Dojo nearly fainted, but managed to stay upright. Clay high-fived Omi, and Emma did her happy dance. Kimiko hugged Raimundo, who went red, but hugged her back. Emma rolled her eyes and shoved them closer together. "Will you two kiss already?" They both looked at her in a mixture of shock and happiness, and then back at each other.

"Well-"

"Um-" Clay huffed and kicked the back of Raimundo's knees, making him lurch forward. His lips met Kimiko's, and for a moment, they stood like that, staring at each other. Then they closed their eyes and Raimundo lifted Kimiko off her feet, and Emma and Dojo cheered. Omi stared, confused and Clay nodded in satisfaction. Then, something occurring to him, Clay glanced down at Emma. "By th' by, ya never did get to say what is was ya told Chance's pa." Emma just grinned and shrugged. "Oh, I was just returning a favor is all. Nothing to worry about, trust me." Clay looked as if he was about to ask more, but then dismissed it and slung an arm around Emma's shoulders. She smiled and leaned against him, watching Raimundo and Kimiko laugh together.

_Meanwhile, back at the Fortress of Solitude… oh, wait, sorry, wrong meanwhile._

_Meanwhile, back at the Hall of Justice- dang it! _

_Meanwhile, back at Runa… (there we go!)_

"This is stupid," Chance muttered. He was wearing a normal t-shirt and jeans, and was sweeping up one of the massive piles of rubble around the room. "I was next in line to rule my clan! I almost controlled the elements! I almost controlled a black hole! I could have ruled the world!" Then the door opened and Sphinx walked in, undaunted and unsurprised at the state of the room.

"Mr. Young? Your father told me to see you." Chance turned to see her, wiping his forehead. "Ah, yes, Sphinx, excellent. I'm not used to all this annoying manual labor."

"Yes, well, that's why he had me come," she said. Then she pulled a huge baseball bat from behind her back, thumping it in one hand. "It's time we renegotiated the terms of my employment." Chance's eyes went wide and he gulped.

* * *

><p>"Master, reports from Runa."<p>

"Excellent! Did the Young boy eradicate the Warriors?"

"N-no. They escaped."

"**NO!** They- HOW COULD THEY- hmph. Fine. Fine. I will not let this dissuade me. Our plan will carry on, Xiaolin or not. If I must kill them myself, I will, but I will get those Mirrors."

"If I may ask, why is it so important we have them?"

"You idiot! Those Mirrors let you control a black hole. But only when they are combined with the Shen Gong Wu I possess can the black hole be controlled."

"So you would have let the Young boy be... _destroyed_ had he found the other Mirror and opted to use them himself?"

"Of _course!_ After all, he's just one more death. And once I'm done, every dead being will be mine to control."

"Y-yes, Master."

**Well, that's it! To everyone who's reviewed, just read or thought I needed a therapist, (you're totally right, by the way,) thanks! Runa was a fun story and the first real multi-chapter one I've posted to have a plot, so it means a lot that I've gotten so much support. You all are the best, and you're what's made Runa worth finishing. Will there be a sequel? Yes, but maybe not right away, since I'll be busy with my collab with BerserkMonster. (It's on her account, but you guys should check it out if you like superheroes.) Will there be an epilogue? If I get enough requests, yes. And the dark master and his/her servant at the end there? Those are indeed the same ones popping up in Bits and Pieces. They'll be featuring in the sequel. Thanks again, guys, and stay tuned!**


	9. Epilogue

Epilogue

_All dreamers must dream._

The boy ran through the forest, his breath visible in the frosty air before him. Branches tore at his clothes and face, but he was in too much of a rush to care or even notice. He cleared the forest, skidding to a halt at the cliff in front of him. Below the cliff, the gray ocean crashed into dagger-sharp rocks. He turned around, eyes wide in fear. The forest was eerily silent, except for the boy's labored breath. There was no moonlight or starlight to see by because storm clouds obscured the sky. A flash of lightning briefly illuminated his silhouette, and then, it was dark again. The wind collected at his feet, wild and unsure. His eyes darted around, searching for any movement in the darkness of the woods. "Come out and fight me!" he yelled, his words echoing through the void of silence. Then, a haunting laugh pierced it, and he took a fighting stance, the wind growing in intensity.

"Poor child. All alone." A figure darted in and out of his peripheral vision, but every time the boy turned to face it, there would be nothing. "You are their leader. You are their savior. Why aren't you fighting me?"

"Because I can't see you, coward," he hissed, the wind climbing up into his hands. That laugh rang out again, and the boy shuddered.

"It's not cowardice. It's subterfuge." Then an inky tendril wrapped around the boy's ankle and yanked him to the ground. The wind blasted out from around him with a boom, and he rubbed his head where he'd hit it against the rock. Then his eyes went wide when he saw what had tripped him. Standing above him was what at first appeared to be a normal human, but at close range he could see that it wasn't human at all. The person, from their voice, was presumably a female, and the figure mirrored that. However, that was the only thing he could make out. The person seemed to be made out of shadow. The only color was on her eyes, two large white ovals, and three red stripes on the right side of her face, running from her jaw to her eye. Then she grinned, and he could see jagged teeth spreading from ear to ear. Literally. The scariest part of her, though, was that he recognized the silhouette. She laughed again and kicked. The boy went tumbling over the cliff, his scream snatched away by the wind. On the cliff, the girl just watched and laughed.

The witch awoke with a jolt. Hands shaking on the covers, it took her a moment to register where she was. Glancing around, she let out a quaky sigh and rubbed her eyes. The moon shone into her window, assuring her that her dream wasn't real. No clouds, no forest, no cliff. No screaming boy. She fell back onto her pillow, burying her face into the fuzz. Then she bolted up, remembering why the dream had scared her so. Her dreams had always been nightmares, one of the cons of being a magic-user, but that night's was different. There were no spiders, no ghosts or zombies, no quicksand, no plants that dragged her into swamps and drowned her. That night, she hadn't just seen the dream from a distance.

She was the killer.

**/You'd never think a girl so beautiful could be so cold a killer./ ;) Don't you just hate a good cliffhanger? I know I do. Like I said, the sequel is gonna take a while, but stay with me. I'll try not to dissapoint. :D No need to leave a review for such a short chapter, but if you want to, feel free.**


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